


Homebound [Kingdom Hearts story]

by RoadToDusk



Series: Stuck in A Video Game [KH Story] [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Disney, F/M, Gen, Other, Square Enix - Freeform, Video Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-02-27 07:17:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 176,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2684090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoadToDusk/pseuds/RoadToDusk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joining the ranks of fourteen year olds everywhere, Michelle does what every other normal teenager at her time does. Play video games. Kingdom Hearts to be specific. When forces begin to unravel the world she had long known, she has to journey to save the worlds and debate on what she truly wants in the end. Friendships will be created and stretched to the limits, what's in store is only the beginning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day of Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not every story is meant to be told but this story is near and dear to my heart. I wanted to show a story that I continuously work to strive and edit, to re-imagine and to display a world that I could be lost in. I've edited this one a few times so perhaps it won't be the first time to see this around but if you were to read it again, maybe you'll see something different. Regardless, a lot of this is for me. So, if you will, join me for this journey through another reworking.

_This journey, this new chapter in a growing life started as any other did._

"No, no, no," Fingers fidgeted along the joystick, vigorously redirecting and turning. If I had tapped any harder, maybe yelled at the screen a little more, maybe Sora could actually use my yelling to his advantage--but that's not how video games  _work!_

_Being bested by a video game one lame, summer morning._

“No, no," An irritated rumble escaped from chapped lips, my body leaning forward in desperate determination. This was going to be the eighth time in a row if I didn't step up to the plate now. I I spent three hours too many trying to level up Sora in order to stand a chance against Sephiorth in the Olympus Coliseum.The characters on the screen moved viciously; Sephiroth, a well known Final Fantasy VII villain leaping across the condensed space, his long masamune threatening to cut the protagonist, Sora, in half. Sephiroth's slow strides before delivering his deadly attacks were hard to counter unless blocked, but that left too many openings as well. Most of the time blocking didn't even protect you in the first installment of the Kingdom Hearts series, it left you for dead. Especially his Heartless angel attack--oh dear god. 

"No, no, no!!" I pleaded, already on the last leg, having wasted the remainder of my potions, elixirs. I begged, I think I might have cried for a time too, but this video game didn't care for  _my_ feelings. It only cared about ripping it apart and laying it upon my wooden floor. 

That cry that escaped from Sora was drowned out by the clatter of the Playstation remote, my body dropping moments after. I dryly sobbed, my emotions finally having enough of this twisted back and forth of losing. I thought I could do it, I really thought I could attempt to do it again if I looked at it with a positive attitude. No, I was only setting myself up for failure once more. Instead, I choose to lay there on the beige floor, debating whether I should repeat the cycle over or deal with something else. Be productive elsewhere in my house. I grimaced at the idea of cleaning, already knowing how that was going to end with my mom coming in, not meeting to her standards. 

I slumped on my side, pouting, my eyes redirecting to the continue screen, watching the floating heart that glimmered above the rising and falling boy. Sora; you have it easy, at least you can continue where you left off. I have to keep going even when I get pushed down. Maybe, maybe I shouldn't say that though, after all, I'm not trying to save multiple universes. I groaned in irritation, scratching the back of my neck and rolled onto my side, my dark, thick hair curling over my eyes. I blew roughly, the strands barely moving enough for me to see my mother stepping into the living room. Her dark pixie hair was messy, her eyes darker than normal, probably from barely getting any sleep since she came home this morning from work. It might've helped that she was wearing her fuzzy pajama pants and gray shirt. 

"Mama, can you put the t.v down a little?" She requested. 

I hummed, flopping over to my back to look upside at her, "Don't worry, I stopped playing. I'm just thinking of what else to do with my life." 

"Right," She yawned, rubbing her eyes with her wrist, "I'm going to go to the store to get some things for dinner, do you want to come?" 

"......No..." I responded sheepishly, earning a relaxed glare from her. 

"Lazy gorda," She teased, crossing the room to press her foot against my leg, nudging me to move. Instead I remained immobile like a cat, sliding across the ground in silent protest. She ended up scoffing, muttering something in spanish before returning to the hallway, a door clicking shut.

I blinked, glancing over to double check my surroundings before shuffling my way on my knees to the Playstation. I had initially made up my mind to stop playing, knowing that if I dared played that boss again I may go nuts. However, pressing my fingers along the smooth surface to shut it off, I hesitated. My mind wandered to the possibly of the outdoors, knowing summer was fully in bloom. It wasn't such a bad idea to go out but knowing that it was only ten in the morning and it was  _already_ 95 degrees didn't sit too well with me. I grimaced, relaxing my hands upon my bent knees, stuck in a rut on my next course of action. My life...was far too boring. Was it by choice? By money status? By where I had lived my entire life? Where I would continue to live for another who knows how many years? 

I felt the weight of those words upon my shoulder, frowning softly as I glanced through the opened blinds, looking to the green yards, a pink, brick house that belonged to the elder widow woman that took herself to church everyday in her little red car. The house next door to hers, a family I've never met but knew they've lived there for years now, their oldest having a wedding not too long ago in their backyard. The trees had come and gone from where I've lived too, a towering pine tree once standing guard at the corner of my yard. I remember how upset I was to see it go, I could only stand while my mom reassured me that it was to keep my siblings and I safe from when the heavy weather pelted through the lands. I could see all the details and years pass by while I remained stationary, my life being crafted and molded by the environment around me. Much like the tree before; withered yet firm, his reign might surpass mine when it comes a-knocking. 

I grimaced, my glance returning to the black box, changing my decision. I scooted back to my remote, carefully grabbing it to sit on the couch. Maybe I'd call for my friends to come by tomorrow, I know they said they were going to be busy with chores today. For now, I'll play...but I'll do a new play file. It's been a while since I've played this game from the beginning. I think it would be a refreshing (and a whole lot less irritating) change. 

It was minutes of clicking out and setting the options for the new game, waving at my mom and teasing for her that I'd cook for dinner tonight, considering it was a favorite past time for me to do now. With her gone, the rumble of her car echoing out of the driveway and onto the streets, my attention focused back on the screen. The difficulty and settings were set and without further delay, I continued forth, allowing myself to enjoy the title screen. I rested my back against the couch, feeling my fingers flex beside my thigh, drumming patiently as I cracked an eye open. My fingers stretched, my mind attempting to preoccupy myself, my fingers floating into the air. Each hit an imaginary note, following carefully with the music that followed, a piano cord echoing in my mind. The violins that purred, the piano that would follow delicately behind. I knew this melody so well, aching to hear once again. The clarinet or flute that followed alongside the piano was deep in its voice, but light in its pace. Do, do do, do do do do….

I exhaled, halting my fingers mid way to glance up. I must have looked ridiculous right now. I blushed lightly, fixing myself to properly sit on the couch in order to play the game. Finally, the game would begin now--

 

_It’s time to start a new journey_

The words boomed and I nearly jolted in place, glancing around in a panic. What--what in the world was that? 

I immediately paused, scanning around my living room. Who, what, when, why, where can I get a hold of the closest priest to exorcist this house? 

I didn't move, knowing full well what to do in cases like this--if nothing happened or anything where to jump out, at least I knew that salt would protect me from whatever demons there is. I exaggerated a look of concern, shifting my eyes once more in the room when it was deemed that the sound came of my insane imagination.I shivered briefly, telling myself that it was probably my brother trying to scare me....all the way from work. Sure, sure, let's go with that. I attempted to move on from that moment, pressing ahead with starting the new game. It was a lot of clicking to skip the unnecessary instructions to play the game, but soon, I had found myself at the fateful choice of weapons. I had always gone the unconventional route; preferring the shield over the sword, sacrificing the staff. I always thought it was better....to be a protector and a Guardian. I smiled at the options, continuing the play through without much thought now to the ominous voice.

Now the next cut-scene played with Sora upon the island and the friends in front of him. The ones that would ask the thought provoking questions. The ones that knew what would happen next to his progression through the game. I knew the options well, knowing fully well my friends would always be my answers through all of this. After talking to all three of them, the words lingered upon the screen: Y _our adventure begins at noon, and continues throughout the dead of night. Your road won't be easy but a rising sun await's your journey's end._

Then, the next phrase appeared, my body sitting up with clear alert to know that something was wrong.

_The door...has opened_

The television screen immediately went dark and for a good minute I merely sat there, almost dumbfounded in what had happened. I glanced down to the playstation, finding the light for it was completely off. No, no, this couldn't be happening right now--"Hahahahahahaha," I laughed unexpectedly, finding no other outlet to even handle right now, "Funny, good one Ana!" I had called out to my oldest sister, half-hoping she would round the corner and tell me to stop being ridiculous. Yet she didn't. She wasn't home. I was seriously the only one in the house hold. I pressed my hands on the couch, immediately shaking my head and began to mutter no. No, no, no, nope! I was not going to stay here after all that. I fixed my striped, short sleeve shirt, forcing my feet into my black sneakers and fixing the ends to properly mold it around my feet. Once I felt adjusted, I was out the door, groaning at the sweltering heat that hit my face. Okay, did i really want to avoid a demonic presence in my house  _that_ bad???? 

I grimaced, darting my attention back to the house before sprinting forth, taking a much needed walk around my neighborhood.I had shoved my hands into my pockets, rubbing my fingers along the inner linings of the pocket, trying to calm myself. It might've been me, it might've been that that was too coincidental to fall along with the game's options and omnious foretelling of chaos and destruction. Yet, I had to keep reminding myself that this was a game and nothing more. As much as I love the Kingdom Hearts series, constantly dreaming of better things to follow with my life in terms of exploring, seeing new, rare sights with friends, that's all it could have been; a dream. 

I rounded the corner, the narrow path of everyone's yards being the closest thing I have to a sidewalk. I trudged carefully over the roots from trees that have gotten to close to the concrete street, lingering forth to maybe head off to the park. I had everything on me and I at least let my mom know I went to go for a walk so...there shouldn't be a problem. Right? Right?????

SO WHY DOES IT FEEL LIKE THERE'S A PROBLEM?!

I sighed, rubbing my cheeks roughly in order to snap out of it. I was clearly overthinking it again like the nerd I am...cause what if that's what I wanted. I would say........mostly no but I know I'd be lying to myself if I didn't say there was a little yes in it too. I mean, what's better than that--I spoke too soon. I felt my foot hit against another root, now nearly spiraling my arms out to regain my balance instead of falling. Shit, shit--

"Miss, I'd think it's best if you watch where you're walking next time," I froze immediately when two pale arms had caught me from falling on my face. Instead of looking up to see who it was, the arms reeled me back to a stand, quickly letting go as I allowed myself to reel in from all that. I exhaled, turning my head to find it was a man, dressed casually in black slacks and a lavender dress shirt...but I couldn't move away from his hair. It was sleek white, as if snow had just rained down upon him to coat his hair. He has a handsome face for a....thirty year old? I think? Something tells me he's older....I don't know...it's strange. 

"I--Uh, sorry about that," I apologized, rubbing my wrists, "I wasn't looking where I was going." 

"Shouldn't apologize to me, you seem you had a train of thought rolling through your mind, " The man quizzically responded. 

It was disturbing that he noticed that, but then again, it really must've been written all over my face then. I grimaced, rubbing my neck, nodding, "Yeah, something like. Anyways, thanks again!" 

I was already taking a few steps forward when I heard his honey voice ring again, "You seem rather bored...living such a provincial life. Do you not realize there are doors of opportunities opening...?" I stopped, turning in place to see the man in the same spot, a clever smirk resting upon his lips. No...no way...there could be no way he knows what's going on in my head. I exhaled slowly, deciding to turn away once more but I could not walk as far. The tantalizing thoughts were entrapping themselves, asking, demanding; did he know?

I frowned, shooting my attention back to the dark eyed stranger, retracting my traces to regrettably talk to him, "What doors of opportunities are you exactly talking about??" 

Now the man seemed satisfied that I responded, fixing the golden buttons upon his cuff. When he finished, his dark, umber eyes focused upon me. I grew uncomfortable, feeling it was not of a perversion that men have...but as if he was dissecting my very core. I crossed my arms against my chest to avert his attention back to my eyes, glaring and huffing in protest. 

"Have you ever been outside of this town, young lady?" The man decided to ask. 

"Yeah, a few times," I answered briskly, not ready to explain myself to him. 

"Have you been outside this country...?" 

"....No..." 

"This  _world?"_

"....."

I stared, somewhat regretting my decision to find out more from this man. I felt my foot take a step back but there was something about this guy. Something about him that said he wasn't entirely crazy. That he's seen more than I will ever expect to see in my lifetime. Perhaps he's seen more than anyone alive has seen. I grimaced when he decided to close that foot gap, his head tilting slightly, "What would you do if I could make that chance happen?" 

".....I'd be pretty damn concern of the consequences of that chance." I remarked, instead earning the man to laugh, my cheeks heating up in embarrassment. 

"You are fairly perspective, I respect that. You are free to make whatever choice you want, but you are not free from the consequences of the choice." The man recited, the growing idea that he may have quotes written on his arm, "But...if the outcome of the choice over weighed the consequences...knowing you can handle it to the best of your abilities, would you still try...?" 

"....I think I'm growing uncomfortable with this conversation," I suddenly admitted, "I don't know what powers you may have to make it happen--but I really don't think i'm interested in such a reckless life."

"Well, I don't have the power to make that happen," He retorted, shrugging his shoulders. I stared, watching while he turned himself to leave, "Though, need not to remind, but a door has opened...." His umber orbs met my own, "The question is...will you go through it?" 

He left without another word, without a name to that foreboding presence. I don't know why today had to seem like bad news was  being thrown around left and right...but that was the biggest indicator for sure. I watched as he made his way up a climbing hill, the unsettling feeling in my chest growing. It was only the beginning I feared...of what was to come. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Mama, can you close the windows?"

I finished washing my plate, the small box television above me ranting out about the powerful thunderstorm surge that was heading towards our area. The news crew seem to go on a riot about it, I'm not sure, I'm really not paying that much attention to it either. I grimaced, finding my soap-sud fingers to the towel by the sink and drying it off. My thoughts still haven't settled since this after noon, recalling the strange man, the weird context within the Kingdom Hearts game. It was too much for an over-imaginative fourteen year old to handle apparently. I grimaced, flicking my hands to the side when I reached for the window, feeling the strange, cooling breeze enter the house. I stared out into the darkened sky, white flashes erupting in the distance. It was shaping up to be a big storm, that was for sure. 

I shook my head, pressing my hands down against the frame to shut it firmly. I followed with the rest of the ones in the kitchen before heading out into the living room. I hadn't bothered with the playstation since I had gotten home, rather avoiding what was going on. Maybe it would roll over and become a thing of the past soon enough. I had a choice for that, right? 

The last window was shut, locked for good measure when I went to sit on the couch, rubbing my forehead, "Mama?" I lifted my head, finding my mother walk into the room, a look of concern resting, "What happened?" 

"Mm...it's nothing. Just feel stressed, I think..." I half-lied, scooting over for her to sit next to me. She brushed her fingers along my hair, my eyes flickering lightly at the warm touch, resting my head against her shoulder. It was reassuring to have my mom...that's all I needed in the world was her comfort. 

"I know it's hard, Michelle..." I know she must have been thinking of the decision of going to a different school than my friends,  _again,_ "It'll be good...I know you're friends now will stay much closer than the ones in elementary. Now you'll get the choice to make new friends again too." She kissed my forehead, brushing slowly through my thick, dark hair, "I know you will." 

"I know..." I smiled softly, pecking her cheek, "I'll be okay, it's too early to think about it now...my summer just started, right?" My mom knew better though, I don't think she knew exactly but I think she knew. I don't know if she knew how to handle it her help...but she always offered her shoulder to me...and that meant so much. I sighed heavily, resting up from against her and looked pointedly, "Don't forget to sleep now, Ana is going to come home soon from work and Fluffy is just going to go off with his barking...I don't know where he gets it from." 

"I don't know either, maybe your father," She always said it distastefully, leaving me questioning why even mention him in the first place, "But i'll go right now," She brushed my hair once more, kissing my temple, "I love you mama, have a good night." 

"You too, mami," It took her a minute to get up, watching her old bones get up and cross the room, hearing the familiar click echo in the hall when she got into her room. I was left sitting there, sighing, holding my knees to my chest and sighed, resting my head back. I should just listen to what my mom said. She was right after all, I should probably focus on more pressing matters like...high school. I guess. It was coming up after all and with summer vacation just starting, I was going to have to think about meeting new people again, making new friends, the pressure of finding your life purpose, and keeping in touch with my friends. I frowned, knowing I didn't have much choice in the matter. Schools were always decided by where you lived and I lived on a far different side of town then my friends. My mom wanted me to do better in school, of course I'd go for the better schools for her. I wanted to keep doing well and actually have a chance in life to do something greater that would outlive me. Maybe it was too much to go on, maybe it was too  _hopeful_ of me to think about. I sighed, rolling my head back, "Maybe I'd like to run away from reality...heh...wouldn't that be nice?" 

The thunder rumbled outside and I instantly felt my shoulders stiffen, sliding down the couch and tugging a pillow to my chest. It wouldn't be long now, it already sounded like the rain was hitting against the window. Little clicks and taps-- _crack._ My eyes snapped open and I looked to the hallway. Another crack followed and now I was on my feet, attempting to find where the source of it was coming from. I was now in the kitchen, the house ominously quiet beside that cracking. It seemed it wasn't (THANKFULLY) coming from the basement, but the spare room we have that connected to the kitchen. I carefully opened the door, the light pouring into to reveal the clutter of toys and junk that we had stored in there. I blinked, reaching to flick on the light when I heard the crack again, my heart pounding within my chest. I hastily flipped the light, finding nothing in the room. I glanced to the left, seeing the tree branches brush against the surface of the window, leaving me slightly relieved. It was probably the branches hitting the window loudly. I then glanced to the opposite side of the room, to the door that led outside and the windows along it. That seemed fine too, though, I should make sure it's locked at least. With my thoughts settling, I opened the initial door, making sure the glass screen door behind it had the switch locked. With my fingers laying upon the glass, i reached and shut it close. Lifting my gaze, I didn't realize I was being watched by a golden, glowing eyes. 

_CRACK_

I screamed when the eyes leapt forward, smacking into the glass harshly. I fell upon my rear, scrambling back when the eyes settled by the base of the glass screen. Oh my god, oh my god, this couldn't be happening, this  _can't_ be happening. I clawed back on the carpet, my hands scrambling to find anything to use while my foot kicked at the door, forcing it slightly shut. I scanned around, a baseball hidden towards the corner of the room, knowing fully well that the machete downstairs would lead to my death at this point if I tried to go for it. I crawled forth, shoving several boxes out of the way till I got to the silver bat in the corner of the room. Finally, as if turning into a zombie horror film, the glass shattered and I spun around, finding this...mass of darkness sprawled across the carpet. It was no bigger than a ten pound dog, it's black antennas twitching and darting while the demonic thing searched the room. I stood, frozen at the chances, of all chances, that a  _heartless_ was crawling across the floor. It wasn't funny, it wasn't something to even be excited about. I knew what they meant...and I knew the damage they would cause. It's glowing orbs finally seemed to catch sight of me, fixated upon my body. It perched back and suddenly jumped but I slammed the bat forward, smacking it to the ground, huffing loudly. 

"No!" I snapped, "No! Stay where you are you damn little--" I yelped when it leapt again, jumping over the hoard of junk while the Shadow seemed to attach itself to the wall instead. I stumbled against the next corner of the wall, shakily holding the metal bat when the heartless fixed itself upon the wall, instead running along the other wall and to the ceiling. I swallowed roughly, my shoulders gliding against the wall as I went to reach for the door when the shadow jumped again. Instead, I pushed the screen open, hurling myself away from the Shadow heartless. I stumbled outside, now readying myself to really smash it in when its claws laid upon the shattered glass, it's head ever twitching. The damn shadow jumped again and I held no restraint, smacking it to the concrete pathway below me. Showing no mercy, I kept smacking the back into it, hearing all sorts of grotesque smashing. When I thought I had did the final blow, it was...still...moving. Horrified, I stepped away, now taking the moment to recall that nothing really could destroy a heartless except for outrageous strength, magic, or the power of the keyblade. Well, this was bull. 

My eyes started to dart around me, finding...gods, there was more of them. Several shadows were now morphing and growing from the ground, darting around and lashing out. I grimaced, my bat held up pointedly, unable to choose which spot to protect myself more from. I thought it would be a good idea to go outside, I guess that was a terrible idea. I whipped in place, finding my sneakers skid and stop abruptly every time one seemed to grow closer. Gods...I'm not going to survive this. Several shadows seemed to retract, now jumping at me to attack. I grimaced, readying the bat to hit the first one but then, a beam of light burned one into a dark plume of smoke. Flurries of light began to shadow, taking out each heartless until I was the last thing standing. Too astounded to say anything, I nearly collapsed on my knees, my heart stuck in my throat. I swallowed horribly, dropping the bat and pressed my forehead to the ground, thanking whatever forces there was that I'm still alive. 

"Fancy I meet you again," I froze, suddenly lifting my attention to find the strange white haired man from before, still wearing the same outfit as before. His sleeves were rolled to his elbows though, clearly showing how battle ready he was. I only stared when he reached over, offering me a hand, "Rather bold to face the Heartless with nothing but a bat." 

"...what are you?" I whispered, astounded and frightened by the mass amount of magic he possessed. His hand still lingered in front of me and I hesitated to take it, finding the assistance to get up quite useful...my legs were beginning to feel like jelly now. 

"A man about to change the chances you have of surviving," He answered, his palm glowing. He suddenly launched out, an explosion of light radiating on the street, heaps of shadows being thrown up into the air. I grimaced, knowing I would be a lot better off staying by this man's side to face the heartless. Or to at least survive this night--oh no. 

"Wait, my mom, she's inside!" I twisted but the man held my arm back, his eyes narrowing. 

"You're better off running, your mother and many others will be in danger--" What, why are they going to be in danger for?!

"That's my  _mother_ you're talking about!" I shouted at him, "You can't tell me to leave her!" 

"I am," He insisted, "You'd probably be insistent that I save this entire damned community but there are  _sacrifices_ that must be made." 

"You must be out of your damn mind--" I pulled away, about to make the run when he pulled back once more. 

"Fine, I will make sure she and whoever may live around here will be safe!" The man agreed, but his eyes lifted, "In exchange, I need you to trust me." 

"Trust you?! I don't even know who you are, what you are, WHAT IS HAPPENING!" I shook his wrists aggressively, unsatisfied with how fast paced everything was happening. How the world seemed to be spiraling upside down.

"If I were to lecture you right now, I don't think your mother would survive the heartless that is breaking into your house at this very moment," He chided and my heart dropped, my feet stumbling back from releasing grip on his hands. He seemed to take that as a signal to open a shining portal beside him, my eyes wincing and shutting close from how bright it was. I grimaced, holding my arms before my eyes, blinking wildly towards a portal--a real fucking portal. "Go through the portal now and don't turn back!" 

It was funny, earlier today, I was contemplating on how small my world was, worrying for the reality I would have to face soon enough. Well, I guess my reality was this now. Suddenly met with choices that I'd have to accept the consequences of. I grimaced, darting my eyes towards the house that I've grown and cherished. I swallowed, feeling hot tears threatening to escape my eyes when I turned, taking the horrible chance of running straight through that portal. 

It was blinding, twisting turns and unable to see where else I was going, I thought i was going to die right then and there. When I got thrown out of the portal of light and hit the hard surface, I was almost surprised to open my eyes and find darkness. I sat up hastily, finding the the portal shut closed, leaving me entrapped. I hesitated, now standing up and looking around. The storm seemed to keep rumbling to where ever that strange man transported me to. I shivered, droplets of water falling upon my head as I ran a hand across the rocky surface, deeming to be in a cave of some sort. I exhaled carefully, my eyes wandering around the dark cavern till I found a strange light coming from down the ways. I swallowed, choosing to go follow the strange source, slowly exhaling when I soon found myself in the presence of several....large...ice shards?

A steady cool breath escaped my lips when I halted in a larger room, finding several glaciers of ice piercing through the rocky walls, ice coating this entire room. I shivered, rubbing my arms hastily and scanned around until I caught sight of the largest ice shard. It was perfectly clear...but what was disturbing...was the young woman that was frozen inside. I grimaced, knowing fully well I was already in a crazy circumstance...might as well find out what this was about. The woman was dressed for battle; dark, maroon armor covering her entire body. Black flowing hair surrounded her, perhaps moved by this spell that was cast. Though...a weapon laid against her chest, tightly entwined by her hands. I blinked, catching sight of the familiar weapon that she held. 

A keyblade....?

I drew closer, unaware of the scurrying of shadows that lingered behind. Pressing my hand to the frozen surface, I lifted my gaze carefully up to the woman above, wondering....wondering what had happened. "Please....please help me," I begged, "I don't know what's going on...or what's happening....but I think I was told to come here for a reason..." I dug my nails against the icy surface, hissing, ignoring the clicking nails that dragged around, "What should I do...?"

.....

.....

_Heed...my strength...but be weary...of the consequences that follow_

Light began to seed and bloom within the ice, blossoming to the point where I shielded my eyes once more. It grew too bright, too quickly, this whole cavern seeming to be taken away with it. I didn't know what happened...or where I was....but standing in the warmth of this light, I found myself across the woman now, unable to take myself away from the bleeding expression of pain she held. In her possession was the keyblade, glimmering with silver, shimming stars that flowed along it. To touch the stars itself it seemed....

_A dead Master can no longer give life to the Keyblade_

I hesitated....but I relented, knowing there was no other options. I carefully took the blade from her, suddenly feeling the weight of the keyblade in the palm of my hands. I blinked slowly, surprised it didn't disappear in a shimmer of lights but rested there. Instead of staring any longer, I lifted my gaze, now fading the warrior begin to fade away into dust and starlit, the solemn expression never escaping. 

_Take it and do what I could not_

The floor below gave way suddenly and I screamed, falling into a pit of unknown territories, the world above shattering and fading away. So I fell, falling into the embracing arms that darkness offered. 

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Character: Michelle
> 
> Age: 14 1/2 
> 
> World: Earth


	2. New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Re-Edited Chapter
> 
> I hope if you're reading this story for the first time to be weary in mind that I'm currently going through a complete revamp of my entire series and the one that follows. So...if you're like, "Hey! This is really good!" Surprise! The rest sucks for right now -w- I'm sorry. Please be patient.

_tap tap_

_....._

_Scratch scratch_

_....._

_SLUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPP_

 

I groaned, my head pounding, my sense of awareness finally reawakening. I curled up, burying my face into a leathery seat. The edges of my eyes were dried and cracking with bits of sand and I only had the comprehension to rub against it. The lull of sleep still held me dearly and I found myself curling once more into the material. The rays of dawn were cracking through the partially opened window, a clear sign that the storm had rolled over after yesterday. I yawned once, my eyes flickering ever so lightly, slowly recalling what happened yesterday. That was one intense dream I had. I think that was the most vivid one I have ever had. First Heartless evading, leaving behind everything to unknown circumstances to go through a freaking portal, being handed a keyblade--ha, funny, my mom is going to kill me when she finds I slept on the couch. She's going to really be adamant about sleeping after a meal. 

I yawned, stretching and dragging my nails once more on the thick surface when suddenly...something clicked in my head. Gears began to churn and smoke when I began running my palm against the leather surface. Wait a second...this isn't the soft material for the couches we have at home. I blinked wearily, suddenly looking down at the russet leather, the gears in my head finally clicking in place; I don't own anything leather in my house. 

...

.......

My head snapped up, blurred eye but still able to make out the warm, green walls and mahogany floorboards. i blinked repeatedly, swinging my legs off the couch to sit up properly and rub my eyes vigorously. Focusing in clearer detail, a coffee table rested close to my legs, a bookshelf rested in a corner of the room with thick textbooks lined on each shelf. Scanning further around the room, I caught sight of two dog bowls, black names written neatly along the side. My eyes slid across the room, finding that the room opened up into another. Within the next open space laid a dining table set neatly for two, a rustic china cabinet hidden along the corner of the room.  A high pitched whistle escaped further down the hall, a tea pot kettle?

I squinted painfully, rubbing the bridge of my nose, moving my hand briefly to my cheek when I grimaced from the drying slobber. No wonder I woke up all the sudden this morning.I was on my feet now, feeling the world twist underneath and I nearly tumbled back to the sofa. I held dearly to the arm of the couch, groaning into the material for all the damn luck I seemed to have. So, now I found myself reaching for the wall, dragging myself heavily . 

"Okay, okay, there's an explanation for this, don't worry...." I reassured myself.

 

The door creaked open and I lifted my gaze. There stood a tall man, his polished freaking white hair--!! 

"You!" I 

"..So what can I call you then?"

"You can call me by my name: Samson. It'sa pleasure to be acquainted, Michelle."

 

“Ugh……my head," I groggily murmured, feeling my head pounding. Again, that was one heck of a dream...haha.....ow. I groaned, rubbing my face momentarily, stopping when I felt something slimy on my cheek. What? Was Fluffy here?

“Ugh, what happened?” I mumbled lowly. I slowly opened my eyes, only to see I was face to face with a Dalmatian dog. Yeah....that's definitely not a Pomeranian. “AH!” I yelped loudly, adrenaline kicking in me to immediately sit up and back away as far as possible. Which only lead me to fall off a couch. "OUF" I groaned, my eyes flickering as I got a better look and saw that there were actually two Dalmatians dogs. They both were sitting down, looking at me with there adorable faces. Okay....even though I didn't understand what was happening, there was two dogs, I couldn't resist.

“Aww!! You two are so cute!” I gleamed loudly. I got a better look at there collars that were blue and red, seeing that there names were on it. “Oh, Pongo and Perdita, huh” I said, petting Pongo’s head. Then I stopped petting him when I realized something. That /couldn't/ have been a coincidence, could it? I glanced at the dog who just stared at me, looking slightly confused at why I was staring so intently at him. “Wait……" I thought out loud as I looked past Pongo, standing up and looked around the room. This definitely....seemed familiar...it was a rather nice living room but it was empty. Hmm...

I pushed open the door, stepping to the next room as the two dogs followed behind. I blinked wildly as I went to the front door, opening it up and stepped outside.

..............

I looked outside to see a street and stores at the end of the little road which was next to this church like building. Adults, children, all alike were walking around, happily shopping. I stepped back inside, my eyes as wide as saucers as I sat upon the couch that was in the first room. I needed to sit...this can't be real. Oh my god. Tell me i'm still dreaming. I looked at my finger before raising it to my mouth and shutting my eyes for a moment, bit down on my finger. "MMM! That felt too real!" I cried in pain, shaking my hand wildly. "THIS CAN'T BE REAL, I'M IN TRAVERSE TOWN?!"

“This is not good, not good at all” I exclaimed panicking, walking back and forth in the room. Pongo and Perdita kept watching me panic, with a confused look on there faces. I scanned around the room till I found a mirror in front of me. The reflection was totally different from what I usually seen. I looked sort of the same but I looked…different somehow too. I couldn't explain it. My eyes were still brown and I was still wearing the outfit from before expect on my pants I had more pockets! That's probably the best way I could explain it!

With the door closed behind me, I slid down to the cold floor. I slapped my head a couple times, trying to figure out what was going on. Okay, mental check list. Apparently world is gone, swallowed by darkness. Check. Wake up from weird dream. Check. Currently investigating if truly in Traverse Town. Check. I grumbled lowly, feeling the incoming headache only escalate as I decided to pull my trusty flip phone out.

I'm so relieved it's fully charged. I'm scared I'm going to loose this baby soon enough. I looked at the time to see it was 4:35 p.m. It's that late? My stomach growled making me flush in annoyance. ‘Crap, I didn’t eat...’ Groaning in annoyance, I stood up and looked towards the door. "Man, I got no money or MUNNY either" then a thought popped into my head making me evilly smile but then I shook my head.

“I could always steal…” I murmured. I frowned rolling my eyes as the good side of me thought otherwise. “No! I can’t steal! That’s wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong!” I countered, once again hearing my stomach growl. “But you’re starving. Like the sayings go ‘Make like a bandit and feast’’ Wait...what? I think I just made that up. I think it's my stomach talking now. My stomach growled again, making me groan in irritation.

“I’ll have to go into town and hope for the best. Heck! I could find a job!” I persuaded myself. I stood up straight, my fist tightened and I punched the air. “To find a job!” I yelled in determination. Pongo and Perdita merely stared at me as I looked back to them and sighed in defeat. "Yeah....that may not happen at all....but it's worth trying..." I accepted as I opened the door, heading out. This was gonna be a long day…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Walking out the house, I made my way through the small crowd of people that were shopping in the stores. 'I hate shopping for this reason!' I thought angrily, making my way to a large door. They were wide open so I happily went through. Civilian guards were posted at each door as I gazed momentarily at them before continuing down to the center of the First District.

“Whoa….” Was all I said, looking at the same town from the game, bustling around with people. It was actually happy around here and so different. I grinned, heading down the stairs. “Now, where the hell could I find some work around here?” I pondered that thought until someone tapped my shoulder, scaring the living shit out of me. I turned around to see no one. I blinked, wondering who the heck did it. I didn't imagine that. I'm not /that/ paranoid. I searched around, taking a step back when I felt something abnormal about the ground. I hummed lowly, looking down to see I stepped on a bag. I picked it up, looking around to see that nobody was really around. "Did anybody loose a bag??" I called out, catching a few passerby's gazes but none seemed truly interested about the bag. I shrugged, opening it up to see if it had any ID of sorts. No...there was no ID...but....there was money....or in this case--.

“My god that's a lot of munny!” I pointed out the obvious, running down the street with the munny in hand. I had to go to somebody and casually got into a conversation about how I didn't understand the money system. Thinking I got hit over the head, they explained it to me and told me how much my finding was. Freaking 5,000 munny! To me, I feel like a millionaire! With munny in my pocket, I finally had something to eat. Food never tasted so good as it did now. I flipped open my cell phone only to my demise. “It’s……..5:15 p.m…" I groaned.

I was lost within a world that I thought wasn't real, I needed help....I don't even know what happened to my world. What was going on...?? I rubbed m head slightly, trying to think of the next best thing to contain my boredom and progressive overthinking. "Hmm, heartless are going to show, I might as well stock up on some potions and all that stuff” I thought reasonably, turning towards the closest store.

The Accessory Shop.

I raised a brow, walking up the stairs. I walked in front of the shop and opened up the door. No one was in the room. I decided to go inside and check it out. “Hello, is anyone here?” I asked. I smiled, finally knowing that no one was here.

“Oh, hello” I froze in placed and slowly turned my head to the person’s voice. The least likely person I would think to see. A young woman with her long brown hair nicely made into a braid, her two bangs framing her face. Her long pink dress reached to where her brown boots began. Aerith. I gulped and slightly waved, unsure to how to react to her presence. Aerith smiled at me greetingly. “Are you here for something?” She asked. I couldn’t say anything so I nodded. She smiled sweetly, walking over to the counter.

“Yea--I mean yes, can I get 5 Hi- potions” I asked. She nodded and went to the back. Suddenly out of nowhere, I get tackled from behind. “HEY AERITH! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?” I fell to the ground along with the person that tackled me. “Ouch….” Aerith walked back to the room, placing down the five potions the looking around the room. She then looked down at the ground with a small frown. “Yuffie,” She chided.

Yuffie... as in the Great Ninja Yuffie!? I looked at the black haired teenager that had landed on me, looking up and smiling sheepishly. Yup, Yuffie tackled me... I hit my head against the floor. I was tackled by Yuffie...words can't describe that. "Oh hey, Aerith. I was wondering where the heck you were” Yuffie said, completely oblivious that I was still under her. Aerith still had that frown on her face causing the ninja to tilt her head. "What?"

“Could you please get off me?” I muttered, lifting my face as I could feel my face red from being stuck to the wooden floor for so long. “Oh....OH!! I'm so sorry, I didn't even notice!” Yuffie apologized, jumping to her feet. You didn't notice...you tackled somebody? I rubbed my face, feeling my arm being grabbed and my body following in a jerk motion. “It’s okay, it’s a first being tackled like that” I joked. She laughed while Aerith smiled though she glanced at Yuffie who ceased her laughter.

“Say, I never have seen you here before. Who are you?” Yuffie asked, looking at me closely with her arms crossed. My eyes widen and I took a step back. ‘WHAT!? DO I TELL HER!?.......Eh what the heck. Probably won’t see me again’ I rubbed the back of my head and smiled.

“My name’s Michelle…” I answered, offering a hand. Yuffie seemed to study me for a few more seconds before grinning brightly, eyes shut and everything. “It’s nice meeting you Michelle!" Yuffie said, shaking my hand quickly. She then turned to Aerith briefly.

“Leon says that the King’s men are coming soon!” Yuffie informed Aerith. Yuffie then walked towards the door, pointing back to me. "We should hang out later, my treat.....unless you say otherwise" With that Yuffie darted out the shop, leaving me confused. Leon? The King? What? She lost me....

“Sorry about Yuffie. She normally does that. If you’ll like, I’ll take 80 munny off all five bottles” Aerith offered. I smiled and nodded. “That would be nice” In total it was like 250 munny, kinda expensive if you look at it like that but it was cheap. I thanked her and walked out the store.

“Whoa, it’s 6:00 p.m! Time really does fly when you’re shopping. I looked up at the sky seeing that it was starting to get dark.

‘Maybe I should head back to the Dalmatians house’ I thought. I nodded, and ran towards the large doors. People were hurrying by while I managed to squeeze by. The bells chimed six times loudly. I walked down the streets and soon heard a large door being closed. ‘Must be because of the heartless’ I walked down to the Dalmatians house and opened the door. I closed the door behind me only to get tackled by the two dogs, giving me licks on the face.

“Hey, hey! Calm down” I laughed. The two backed up, sitting down in front of me. I sat down on the couch, chuckling softly when I hummed lowly, suddenly thinking back to m family at home. My family....

“I hope they're all okay....” I hoped.

I glanced to my hand, starting to get this feeling. 'Was...what happened that night real?' I wondered. I held out my hand, closing my eyes and focusing to my hand. I felt my hand lower down, like it was holding something. I opened my eyes to see it was the same weapon, the Keyblade. My head couldn’t calculate what just happened, my brain broke. ‘Bleeding Hearts’ I heard. ‘Must be the name’ I thought, continuing to look at the black and red Keyblade. I continued to stare at it then a laugh escaped my lips.

It felt weird at first but then I began laughing incredibly hard. This couldn't be real, I must be crazy. I gripped the handle tightly then let it go. It hit the ground and I just stared at it. It suddenly disappeared from the ground and reappeared to my hands causing me to jump. My laughter had come to a cold stop and I could just stare at awe. It's real. Holy crap. There was only one thing I could do at the moment.

“I HAVE THE KEYBLADE!!!” I cheered in excitement, holding it up. “This means no good!”

I laid down on the couch to at least fall asleep. Too much had happened today, I need to get my head straightened with some good night sleep. But something kept me from falling asleep. That’s when I suddenly got up and made my way towards the door. It was like my body was just moving on it's on at that point. Before I left, I looked at the two dogs that were staring at me. I knelt down and patted there heads.

“I’ll get your pups back, don’t worry!” I told them confidently. Pongo and Perdita licked me again before I stood up. “All 9….9 of them” my confidence was fading really fast at the thought of getting 99 puppies.

I took a deep breath and opened the doors. It was dark now with the lights of the second district being the only thing on. I looked up towards the sky, my eyes widening. Up in the clear, dark sky, a star was flickering until it shone brightly only to disappear from the night sky. “Did a star just go out!?” I mumbled. I knew this was getting bad, I’ll be screwed if I end up fighting the heartless.

“Maybe I should find Leon or Yuffie….” I thought out loud. After half a second of thinking I shouted “TO FIND YUFFIE!!” She owes me one anyways.

I dashed down the Second district to face the large door. I grabbed the edge of the door and started pulling till I managed to open a crack that was big enough for me to fit through. Once I managed to get through, decided to look around. “Hmm, I met Yuffie and Aerith in the Accessory shop, so where could I find Yuffie again…?” I thought out loud, heading close to the shop. I decided to walk into the shop, and passed by someone in the process. I didn’t get a chance to look back because the door closed behind.

“Welcome to…..oh, great. Another kid…” I frowned looking at the blonde hair man, known as Cid Highwind. Well, that was a nice way to greet a potential customer. “Hey! I got a name ya’know!” I growled, crossing my arms. He laughed and shook his head.

“Of course you do. So what could I do for ya? ….….?” He raised a brow as I sighed faintly and relaxed my arms by my side. “Michelle, and I’m looking for a girl name Yuffie” I exclaimed.

Cid rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest and leaned over the counter. “Yuffie, pfft, what did the girl do now?” He asked, almost like he knew something like this was going to happen sooner or later. My eyes widen and I waved my hands. “Oh, no! It’s not like that; I just need to find her”

Cid sighed in relief, rubbing his head uncomfortably. He hummed lightly in thought before looking past me and towards the doors of his shop. “Probably went with Leon out there, noticed them out there before you came in” I blinked. I thanked him and rushed out the store. I skidded to a stop and hid by the ledge when I saw two people fighting. I looked more closely to see one of the people fighting and recognized him automatically.

“Leon!” I gasped. The person he was fighting fell to the ground, knocked out cold, defeated. My eyes grew wide when I saw who it was. “I think you over did it Squall” I turned my view to see Yuffie going to Leon’s side. “It’s Leon. And yeah, but we got a bigger problem, a much bigger one” he said. I slowly made my way up the stairs but I tripped, making a noise.

“Huh?” Yuffie turned, looking at where I was but I managed to get to the door quickly, escaping her view. “What?” Leon demanded, glancing towards the direction Yuffie was staring at. She tilted her head. “I swear I heard something”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I shut the second districts doors closed and sighed. “I rather take on the heartless then stay near him!” I muttered. I was about to slide down against the door when I heard clanging noise against the pavement. I jumped up when I heard the clanging noises getting louder and closer. I turned and saw an armored heartless. Well...i didn't mean for that to happen automatically.

“That’s never a good sign” I groaned, slapping my head. Things were beginning to repeat themselves. Suddenly I felt something in my hand making me look down.

“Again….” Seeing the Keyblade in my hand, I glanced back to the heartless as it danced around for a moment before taking its time to look at me. I knew I had a little bit of a chance of beating it. I gripped the handle of the keyblade tightly and prepared myself. I swung it at the heartless, hitting it at least three times before it finally disappeared in a black smoke, leaving a small pink heart to be free into the air. I smiled and did a small victory dance.

“Oh yeah, Score one for Michelle!” I yelled. Then more heartless started popping up, making me sweatdrop. “Well there goes my victory moment” I thought out loud, rubbing my head sheepishly. I suddenly made a dash for it, quickly knocking down some heartless as I went. Now I was in a blind run from these heartless. I didn't really know where I was going but I felt like I was just running in circles around the Second District.

‘Umm! Third District!’ I quickly thought up. I jumped off the ledge and headed down the alley that would lead me to the third district. By the time I reached the door, three heartless were after me but I managed to slam the door on them before they got to me. I slid down against the door, panting really hard. I could still hear the clattered noise they were making behind the door but I knew I was safe. For now at least.

“Okay now I know what Sora has to go through” I thought, thinking about all the heartless he has to face. I looked around the third district and then looked over the edge to where Merlin’s house resides. “Hey, maybe I could ask Merlin if he could help me get home…or at least find my friends/family” I thought, hoping he was there. I quickly went down the stairs when a thought came into my head.

“How did I get myself involved with this!? I’ve dreamed for this for a while and now it came true! Dang Mr. Martinez for saying ‘Be careful for what you wish for’! But wait isn’t this logically impossibly, being in a video game?” I ranted, questioning myself as I said everything. I was heading down the stairs and entering the bottom floor when I heard doors being opened up. I reached the middle of the floor when I heard loud footsteps. For some reason...i think I knew who it was.

'Oh no, don’t tell me that’s who I think it is,' I thought. I continued walking, hoping to get out before anyone comes, but too late for me.

“Hey!”

I turned my head to see a boy about my age going down the steps. He had spiky brown hair, blue eyes, and boy was he wearing an interesting outfit. Red puffy pants, blue belt, red shirt, and on top of it a white jacket. He also wore white gloves and the most noticeable HUGE YELLOW SHOES!! My eyes widen at the site of them. My god they were huge! But what was really scaring me was the person.

'Oh god! It is!' I thought, knowing I finally went insane. It was Sora! SOOOOORA! The main character, the hero, the adorable guy that basically inspired everything! And he was right in front of me! I felt my entire body stiffen as he approached. What the heck am I suppose to do now? Is there anything to even be said?! Shut your mouth before you freak!

Just as I was about to bit my tongue to prevent myself from squealing, I heard an explosion overhead that caused Sora and I to look up. That's when two IFO (Identifiable Flying Objects) crashed on top of him, sending the poor kid flat to the floor while I jumped in surprise. I sniffed a chuckled but kept it hidden with putting my hand to my mouth. There eyes were all swirling! It was freaking hilarious! ‘Poor Sora, being crushed by the two that had fatefully landed on him,’ I thought.

“The Key!" Donald shouted suddenly, pointing to the keyblade Sora held in his hand. At first, it was going all like it was set up in the game and I was having a front row seat of it but then....

“No there’s the key!” Goofy suddenly pointed to me and my eyes widen. “What?” I looked down to my hand and I suddenly realized I was holding it the whole time. Oh...my....god. Donald gave Goofy a annoyed look, hitting the ground with a feathery fist.

“What are you talking about?!” Donald demanding, glancing over to me. His eyes widen at the sight of my keyblade before looking to Sora's then back to mine. “Uh oh”

Then the floor started shaking and pillars started rising from the ground. Then heartless started appearing in front of us and some jumped down from atop the pillars. I took a step back, raising my keyblade defensively along with Sora while Donald and Goofy took there weapons out.

'Okay interesting I’m fighting with Donald, Goofy and Sora….. This should end……..umm hopefully well' I thought. Donald made the first move with casting a spell at a heartless.

I swung the Keyblade a couple times at a heartless, destroying it. I quickly sidestepped to dodge a heartless that was spinning the air. I quickly knocked it off, hitting it the ground and Sora took care of it. A heartless jumped into the air about to hit me when Goofy came and got rid of it. “Thanks!” After I thanked him, we managed to get rid of all the heartless. I wiped some sweat off my head and looked around.

“Did we beat them?” Donald asked. I looked around suspiciously, getting a weird vibe. I guess my video gaming senses were tingling. “I don’t think so….” I answered. The ground started shaking again, proving that I was right.

“Look up there!” Sora said pointing up. I looked up as pieces of armor came down, hitting the ground. Donald shrieked, jumping up. The pieces of random armor started joining up together, making a large appearance. It wasn’t moving till the head appeared and placed its self where the head is supposed to be. Once then it seemed like everything was connecting and it had full control.

“Guard Armor!” I squeaked. We still had our weapons in our hands so Donald was the first to attack it. “YAHH!!” Donald attempted to hit it but the heartless’s arm started spinning rapidly around its self, deflecting Donald. Sora decided to charge next when the heartless stopped spinning the arms around. He managed to get few direct hits here and there. I knew I couldn’t stand behind and watch so I decided to join in along with Donald and Goofy. Joy, taking down a boss like a couple hours since I’ve woken up from this insane like dream!! This is just perfect…

I jumped up, smacking hard against the arm, separating it from the body. ‘It could separate into more parts!?” Donald yelled. I ran up to it and started whacking it a million times along with Donald until it was destroyed. Donald and I looked at each other, getting the same idea in our heads.

“BREAK IT!” I yelled, hoping Goofy and Sora would hear. Sora tilted his head till he noticed the remaining arm getting disabled by Goofy. Sora finally understood and charged at the arm along with Goofy to destroy it. Donald picked his wand and pointed it towards the armored heartless. “FIRE!” He yelled. In a small burst of flames, fire shot out from his wand and collide with the heartless. It then purposely broke apart, his body spinning around freely while its feet stomped around. Sora and Goofy had destroyed the last arm, only to dodge one of the feet that tried to squash them.

I looked at the heartless that was spinning around and remembered something a technique I used whenever to beat this. I ran up to the spinning armor body, almost getting hit but I blocked it, roughly making it come to a stop. I smirked and pounded on it like no tomorrow, even throwing a few random kicks (kicks are awesome! XD) Goofy appeared by my side and helped by tossing his shield, but soon the body stood straight.

“Dang it” I growled. It rapidly started spinning and spun towards us, knocking us down. “Damn, I was close too” I groaned. I pushed my self off the ground and looked at my arm to see some blood. I then pulled the small hi potion from my pocket and shook it. ‘Bottoms up’ I thought. I quickly drank it, tasting almost like water with a frizzier taste to it.

I looked to my arm and noticed it was healing! Whoa, I love potions now. I stood up and noticed the last leg was gone, leaving the spinning body alone. It quickly changed again, this time turning like a cannon with the head on top. It started powering up and shot a bright blue ball at Sora who quickly dodged. It started turning towards me, charged up all ready.

“Duck!” Goofy yelled. “Hey!” Donald responded angrily to that but Donald was pushed down by his friend just in time to dodge the attack.

I quickly slid to the ground, barely dodging the attack. I moved my hair out the way and looked to see Sora jumping into the air. He smashed his Keyblade against it forcing it to hit the ground. It changed back to the up position and was about to continue spinning when I intervened. The body started shaking till the head fell to the ground. A giant pink heart floated out the body slowly ascending into the air while the body disappeared into thin air.

I sighed loudly in relief, putting a hand over my chest to feel my heart beating loudly. “Thank you that this is over” I thought as the heartless disappeared. I managed to survive my first boss fight.

“Well that was interesting” I remarked, breaking the silence . “You got that right” Sora agreed. Before I knew it, I was having some random conversation with him.

“So which do ya think is the key?” Goofy asked Donald. Donald shrugged, confused by it all. “I don’t know they both look the same” Donald said back. “There both different looking though Donald” Goofy countered. Donald seemed to turn a bit red at the moment and crossed his arms stubbornly. “You know what I mean!”

Then after a moment I gave Sora a lazy salute and turned around and began walking away towards the large door that led to the First District. I might as well move on before something else happens. “Hey, where you going?” Sora asked causing my to halt. I turned and smiled slightly.

“I was just here to...help.” I rubbed the back of my head. “Hehehe sorry” I apologized turning around. Just as I was about to start walking Donald started stomping his feet, shaking his head furiously.

“Now wait a minute, nobody is going anywhere until we figure this out” Donald yelled, pointing a finger to me.

I turned around and slightly glared at him. After a while they explained to Sora and me about why they were here. I rolled my eyes…..great now I hear everything. No wonder they didn’t show this in the game. “So you were looking for me?” Sora asked, pointing to himself. Donald and Goofy nodded while I crossed my arms behind my neck. “Yes” I murmured silently. Of course they were looking for him!

“They too were looking for the wielder—” He stopped in midsentence when he noticed me with the keyblade in my left hand. Silence literally struck the air for a few seconds and I really got scared for a minute. “Wielders of the keyblade” He corrected. I turned along with the others to see Leon (SQUALL!! XD) and Yuffie. Yuffie dramatically pointed a finger at me.

“YOU! YOU’RE THE GIRL I KNOCKED OVER IN THE SHOP!!” Yuffie realized, her eyes widen in pure disbelief. I chuckled a little, and waved. “Hey,” I zoned out for a minute as they kept talking when I realized something.

'What happened to my world!? Where is everyone!?' I thought frantically. I hadn't even bothered to begin thinking about that! Did I really want to know what happened?! Oh my god...“I hope they are okay” I muttered under my breath.

“Who’s okay?” I looked up to see Sora staring at me concerningly. Wow...he really has blue eyes. Michelle! Focus! He's asking you something. I shook my head, looking upwards. “Heh, my world” I said in a sarcastic tone.

“What happened?” Sora questioned. I rolled my eyes and thought hard. “Probably the same thing that happened to yours” I concluded, trying to make it as easy as possible for him to understand. He nodded. “When my island had disappeared, my friends Riku and Kairi went missing too, so I need to find them” He said. I nodded, giving him an understanding smile.

“Hey why dontcha come with us. We can go on our vessel” Goofy suggested.

“I wonder if I could find Riku and Kairi” Sora thought out loud. “Of course” Donald said, smiling a bit. Sora looked up, hoping for the best. I shook my head, looking around. ‘What am I gonna do after this…?’ Maybe I should talk to Leon and the others, they could probably help me out. But, like before, I couldn't help but overhear Donald's and Goofy's whispering.

“Are you sure?” Goofy whispered to Donald. “No idea. But we need him and the girl to come with us to help us find the king” Donald whispered to Goofy. I glared at him, letting a small scoff escape. Such a mean duck I tell ya!

“Sora, Go with them, especially if you want to find your friends” Leon unemotionally encouraged. “Yeah I guess” Sora said in a depressed tone. Sora was thinking as I try to think of what to do next, having a sad look on his face. I really was feeling bad for Sora, not like I did before!!

“But you can’t come along looking like that. Understand?” Donald said waving his finger. We both looked at Donald, confused about what he meant.

“No frowning, no sad face. Okay?” Donald said. “Yeah, ya gotta look funny like us!” Goofy said getting close to Donald, smiling brightly. Donald then pushed Goofy away. “This boat runs on happy faces” Donald explained. “Happy?” I questioned quietly. “Yup” Goofy looked at me smiling all funny like. I smiled thinking about what would happen if they weren’t smiling. My god, I have such a bad imagination....but it was still pretty funny.

“See like that” Donald pointed out. Everyone waited to see what Sora was going to do. Sora stood quiet before taking a deep breath. He then smiled really big making Donald and Goofy laugh. “That’s one funny face” Goofy said. I had to cover my mouth from trying to laugh to hard. Yuffie was cracking up in the background while Leon held his hand to his face, thinking how stupid Sora is.

“Okay, why not? I’ll go with you guys” Sora decided. “Donald Duck” Donald said putting his hand out. “Name’s Goofy” Donald and Goofy looked at me, making me raise a brow. “What?” I asked. “If you want you can come with us too. “ Goofy said. “You kinda got no choice” Donald added quietly, glancing to the side to avoid my glare.

As much as I would have liked to say no to spite the duck...I couldn't. This....was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I would be able to travel with Donald, Goofy, and Sora around to different worlds! That...would be amazing. I can't skip out on something like that. My shocked expression left my face and I suddenly smiled.

“Since I got no choice, names Michelle” I introduced, placing my hand right on top of Goofy's and Donald's hands. That's when we all glanced to him. Sora grinned brightly. “And I’m Sora” Sora introduced. I couldn't help but smile a little bit more as did Goofy and Donald. “All for one, one for all” Goofy said as Sora placed his hands on top of ours.

This was going to be start of something wild.

[Scene Change]

“Those little squirts took down that Heartless! Who’d have thought it?” An evil man’s voice said in the dark room as they watched Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Michelle on a holographic like spell.

“Such is the power of the Keyblades. The child’s strength is not his own” “Or hers” A male’s voice added. “Why don’t we turn them into a heartless? That’ll settle things quick enough.” A woman’s voice suggested with an evil annoying laugh.

“And those brat’s friends are the king’s lackeys. Swoggle me eyes, they’re all bilge rats by the look of them.” A piratey male voice exclaimed. “You’re no prize yourself” another said laughing at him. “Shut up!” The pirate voice threatened showing a hook hand to the other man’s face.

“Enough” A woman’s voice silenced the two, in fear. “The Keyblade has chosen them. Will it be they, who conquer the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow them? Either way, they could be quite useful….” The woman’s voice faded along with the conversation.

[Traverse Town]

We walked back to the first district after the whole ‘battle with the guard armor’ thing. I couldn’t believe I just got involved with this. I THOUGHT THIS WAS A GAME! NOT A REAL LIFE ADVENTURE! Sora was talking with Leon, Aerith and Yuffie as I waited with Donald and Goofy. I kept eyeing Donald and Goofy though while they both weren't looking. It was so unreal, it was weirding me out!!

I mean, standing with the famous creations Walt Disney made over 50-60 years ago and actually being able to talk to them was beyond my comprehension. Anyone would freak out seeing a talking duck….and whatever Goofy is, but I got use to it and real fast too…..hey… where IS Pluto? He came with them, wakes Sora up then disappears? What the heck? ...Wow...ADHD is working up now.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt like someone staring at me and it turned out to be Goofy. “Hey are you one of Sora’s friends?” Goofy asked. I shook my head and rested a hand on my hip. “Nope, this is the first time I met him. I'm from a whole another world” I answered. Or maybe a whole another universe by this chance. Hey...maybe this could be a dream...who knows.

“Oooohh” Goofy tapped his chin before looking at me concerningly. “So what happened to your world?” Goofy asked curiously. Donald turned to Goofy, wagging his finger towards him.

“Don’t ask that Goofy, it’s probably personal” Donald exclaimed that caused Goofy's eyes to widen and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Gawrsh, sorry if that offended ya, Michelle”

I smiled, shaking my head as I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “It's okay...and honestly...I don't know what happened to my world...” I answered. Did...did it fall to darkness like all the other worlds? Or...was this just one whacked out dream I was having? No...no...I think I have to rule out that this isn't a dream, it's all real. But that just keeps bugging me...what happened after I was sucked up?

“How come?” Donald suddenly asked, looking interested that caused Goofy to give him a look. I shrugged absentmindedly, beginning to get lost in my thoughts. Sora finally came at some point, holding an arm full of potions that Donald was gladly able to take off his hands and show where they would be able to store it in case they need it during battle.

“So there are other worlds out there right? And we’re visiting them? So how are we going to get to them?” Sora asked .

“The Gummi ship is outside the gate” Donald answered. He looked towards the huge pair of doors that lead to outside this world, probably where the gummi ship was at. I smirked faintly, somewhat inching to already go. I want to see what it looks like!

Sora held a confused look on his face as he scratched the back of his head. “The……… what ship” Sora repeated .

“The GUMMI Ship. That’s the name of our ship” Donald answered again. “So it’s made out of gummies?” I asked, imagining the ship being made up of gummie bears and attacks with gummi worms. Hahaha! (Oooh! I bet the heartless would be terrified when they see it XD)

Sora nearly cracked up but Donald gave him a death glare that stopped him. “NO! It’s just the name” Donald yelled in annoyance. I snickered faintly but quickly stopped when Donald glared at me. Goofy seemed to be oblivious to it as he hooked an arm around Donald's shoulder and shook him around. “Wait 'til you see it!” Goofy said excitedly.  
Goofy started walking but Donald grabbed his belt, stopping him even though Goofy was still walking. Wow, for a little fella, Donald has some strength in him. But...he must be use to that...

“Hold on Goofy, we still need to give them something” Donald reminded Goofy before turning to Sora and I. “Sora, Michelle these are for you two.” He gave us something that resembled a flame and it came with us. A sudden knowledge just entered my mind. I...I can control fire now? “Now you can use magic too! Try it out, all you have to do is say fire and focus” Donald explained.

I looked at Sora as he summoned forth his keyblade and held it out. “Fire!” The flames shot out from the keyblade and my eyes widen in disbelief. “Whoa” I gasped. I looked to Donald who seemed to be impressed but didn’t notice his tail was on fire. My eyes widen when Goofy started pointing at Donald’s tail.

“Umm Donald” Goofy tried to say but Donald seemed to be deaf at the moment. “Now that you can use magic, you can start learning other spells too!” Sora slowly hid the keyblade behind his back, trying to look totally innocent. Donald noticed that we all were staring at him before folding his arms in front of him. “What are you all staring at!?” He demanded.

“Um Donald….your tail” I pointed out, pointing towards his tail that seemed to be going up in smokes at this point. Donald looked to his tail, finally seeing it was on fire. “WAHHHHHH!” Donald started running around and tried putting it out. He then stopped, dropped, and rolled on the ground, finally getting rid of the fire. Donald glared at Sora who was laughing nervously. Oh Sora...not the best way to start off this friendship with Donald.

Donald turned his head towards Goofy, wiping off the dark soot that remained on his tail and crossed his arms. “Goofy, give them that other thing” Donald growled.

“What?”

“You know!”

“Oh, yeah” In a less then a minute we learned how to dodge roll. I tried it out when Sora had ‘accidentally’ tried to use the fire spell again. -__- he needs to practice that aim! I picked myself up from the ground and grinned brightly. 'This is so cool!'

“Abilities allow you to do all sorts of things. Guess we should look for ‘em along the way, huh?” Goofy suggested as I nodded in agreement. “They can be very useful it seems!”

“Okay, is that it?” Sora asked. Donald and Goofy glanced to each other before nodding in agreement. I clapped my hands together. Yes! That means we can go to the Gummi Ship. “Let’s get going!” I said but Donald had to once again ruin it for me. “Not ‘til we’re ready!” Donald shouted. I dropped my head a little wanting to leave already. Gosh darn it Donald, why didn't you get the stuff YOU needed earlier!?

“Well, I see big adventures coming their way! Looks like it’s up to me to keep track of it all in my journal” A little voice called out. Sora and I looked around, confused from where that voice came from. “You heard that right?” I asked to which Sora nodded. “Down here!” I looked down, nearly screaming but I recognized who it was before I would have began stomping my feet to kill it.

A little cricket stood before us, all up in a nice outfit and a hat. “Names Jiminy Cricket, at your service!” he introduced, bowing slightly. “Whoa, didn’t notice you there. Sorry about that” Sora apologized, lowing himself to the ground and held his hand out. Jiminy jumped onto Sora’s hand and Sora brought him up to see-able levels. Goofy came back with some new shield while Donald seemed to be having an argument in the other Accessory store...the...one that his nephews owned...right.

“Oh yeah! This is Jiminy, he’s gonna be helping us along the way too!” Goofy told us. “Oh, I’m just recording down this all in my journal entries. That’s all. It’s a pleasure meeting you two!” Jiminy said, slightly embarrassed. I smiled brightly.

“Nice to meet you Jiminy!” I waved. Sora did the same. After a 5 minute chat, Jiminy ending up hanging out in Sora’s hood, to get better journal recordings. I’ve been running around, bothering Cid into giving me like 10 potions, 5 ethers and 2 hi potions. I’m still amazed I had about 900 munny left. I AM THANKING WHOEVER GAVE THIS TO ME! And to thank my sister who taught me to make bargain prices! I looked over to Donald who seemed to be ready, although extremely annoyed as his nephews waved goodbye to him.

“Now we can go right?” Sora questioned, looking really excited to start this new journey. I couldn't blame him. I kind of was too. I couldn't want to start his myself. I needed to see if my friends and family was all right. Donald rolled his eyes, groaning. “Yes” “ALRIGHT, LET’S GO!” We cheered. The start of a new journey was at hand.


	3. Up is Down

“Whoa....” Sora and I had stopped near the Gummi ship as Donald and Goofy continued on. My god...this...is...incredible. The ship was...my god. The Kingdom gummi ship just looked awesome! Although it was red and yellow, the thing looked ready to run and ready for whatever happens. Donald turned to us as the Gummi Ship was opened up by Goofy who slipped inside.

“Are you guys coming or what?” Donald asked. I nodded my head quickly and rushed over to the ship, entering inside while Donald was spun around when Sora sprinted past him. My eyes were wide enough, seeing the control room with random buttons lighting up different colors. Sora, being super curious went around looking at everything. 

“Whoa! This is amazing!” I exclaimed, unable to take my eyes off all the stuff.

“Hey! You two! Take your shoes off! We just cleaned in here!” A small voice suddenly shouted. I blinked a few times and glanced downwards to see two chipmunks jump on the control panels. One with a red noise that seemed to look ...dumb (no offense) and one with a black noise that seemed to be serious, his little arms crossed. 

“Ah! I’m sorry, I didn’t know!’ I apologized, quickly taking off my shoes. “Whoa. Talking chipmunks” Sora said taking his HUGE shoes off. I mean seriously! His shoes were giants compared to mine AND YELLOW!! Where the heck does this boy shop……..whoops…..getting off track.

“The names Chip ‘n Dale to you!” said the black nosed one. I looked around. In the game all you saw was the seats but here you see that there were four rooms and even a kitchen. It really looked nice from the inside, and a heck of a lot bigger then it looks on the outside.

“This is huge” said Sora who sat down in a seat in astonishment.

Donald and Goofy sat down on the seats that were further more in the front then ours. “Preparing for lift off, better buckle up!” Donald shouted warningly. Goofy seemed to be off minding his own business humming something and pressing buttons. “Huh” I walked over to the seat while asking “You do know how to drive this good right?” Donald ignored it as he started pressing buttons.

Goofy turned to us, doing a shifty eye motion before putting a hand over his mouth. “Donald’s not the best of drivers so better fasten the seat belt.’” Goofy quietly warned us. My eyes widen in horror and I slapped the seat belt tightly on me as did Sora at the same time. Although I didn't know Sora that great right now, I turned to him with a worried look. “If I die, take my mp3 and phone” I offered. Sora laughed nervously, sinking into his seat slightly as he glanced around.

“BLAST OFF!” Donald yelled, pointing off towards the opened space. The ship started to rise into the air. I gripped tightly to my seat not wanting to know what happens next.

Then the ship went forward going at like 1 inch to 65 miles per hour in a second. 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! IT’S DISNEY WORLD ALL OVER AGAIN! AEROSMITH RIDE WAS CRAZY! I gripped my seat tighter as I heard Sora almost fall out his seat. I had my eyes close, tight. 

“I knew this was a bad idea” I muttered. The ship seemed like it got slower so I opened my eyes. “Whoa” Was all I could say. Sora unbuckled from his seat and dashed towards the window.

“This is so cool” He said. I shakily got up and looked. The clear black space and the stars that were passing right by made it really nice. “You’re right” I agreed. “We travel to different worlds on the Gummi ship,” Donald informed. “The heartless ships often give us a hard time” Goofy added.

I decided to sit back down along with Sora while Donald started blabbing off about the rules of the gummi ship. Man, I have to sound pretty clueless….UGH! THIS IS GONNA BE SO HARD! I can not! I repeat! Can not tell Sora that he’s a main character in a world famous game. I bit the bottom of my lip and took a silent breath of air. “So Sora……. Where did you come from before all this happened?” I asked. Sora looked at me. “Destiny Island”

“Wow that sounds nice, pff that’s sounds better then where I lived.” I said. Sora tilted his head a little. “What did you mean by that?” I narrowed my eyes to the window, seeing the passing stars go by. 

“Well let’s say a lot of things were happening and people were fighting each other. The place you live in is starting to lose money in tax, parent’s losing jobs, it was like almost all the joy, hope, and will fire was gone in the world…I think that’s why the heartless came to my world. Even without them. My world would have destroyed it self” I concluded. My god...I sound dark. He frowned a little but I decided to change the subject. “So those friends of yours, exactly who are they?” I asked. Sora instantly brightened up.

“Kairi and Riku are my best friends on the island. Riku and I were friends since we were really little. Then Kairi appeared one day, not knowing where she came from or anything. But we all grew to be best friends.” Sora explained. 

“We were going to look for other worlds on a raft we made, maybe even finding where Kairi’s home world was from since she didn’t even remembered….then this all happened. Riku disappeared into the darkness and I have no idea what happened to Kairi” He had a sober look on his face that even made me feel sad.

“Oh” I muttered quietly. But he turned that frown upside down and grinned goofy. “I know they’re okay. I just need to find them” he confidently declared. I smiled at his determination.

“So, don’t mess around with any of the – hey were you guys even listening!?!?” Donald screeched looking back at us with huge bugged out eyes, freaking me out.

“Yes!” We answered. Donald had that look ‘Oh sure you are’ on his face. He turned forward and huffed, muttering something that I couldn’t make out since he talked all funny.

“Hyuck, all you really gots to do is don’t’ bother Donald, know how to cook, and that’s it!” Goofy summarized. “Now that was easy to understand” Sora said, folding his arms against his chest. Donald glared at Goofy who was smiling brightly and not paying attention to him. “So wait? We have rooms right?” I asked.

“Yes, go down the hall, don’t care if you start fighting for them, just leave me out of it” Donald muttered with a snicker.

I quickly went down the hall and looked at all the four rooms. Two were all ready occupied with Donald’s and Goofy’s stuff. Sora, being the curious guy he was waltz right into Donald’s room and decided to look at his stuff. I looked at the other two remaining rooms then back to the others. 

‘Pick the room next door to Donald….that’ll just kill me. Pick the one next door to Goofy, I’ll probably hear inhuman snoring………I’ll take Goofy over Donald any day! I don’t wanna hear Donald yelling or arguing at the middle of night’ I jumped to the room next to Goofy’s and knocked on the wall.

“Hey Sora!” I called out. He peaked his head from inside Goofy’s room. “This is my room just to let you know” I informed, smiling, pointing inside the room. He nodded; slowly turning his head to what would be his room when his face turned to what looked like a horrified expression. 

“Damn! Now I have to stay next door to Donald’s room!” Sora complained, loud enough for the two pilots of the gummi ship to hear. I shook my head and counted down, 3, 2, 1……

“WHAT!?” Donald’s voice yelled from the front. I snickered while Sora covered his ears, trying to block out Donald’s obsessive anger which we couldn’t understand one bit. “Exactly my point” I smiled seeing Sora sulking to himself walking into his room. I looked inside the room to see a bed, draws, and its own bathroom with a shower. I jumped onto the bed and held onto the pillow. 

‘Ahh this feels so nice’ Just when I got comfortable I heard that loud quack. “We found a world!” 

My head shot up and I looked out the door to see Sora doing the same thing. Sora jumped off his bed and dashed out into the hall. I did the exact same thing and headed towards Donald and Goofy. I looked out the window, seeing a world. I could feel my heart pump up “So what are we waiting for!? Let’s go!” I darted towards the gummi door, darting my eyes back towards the window to make sure I /wasn't/ about to jump out of a ship in space. Soon enough green fields were becoming close 

I jumped off, landing in a large field with flowers of so many kinds spread out as far as the eye can see. The sun was high in the clear sky with a few wisps of clouds off somewhere in the distance. Everything just seemed so peaceful.

“It’s beautiful” I gazed circling around to try to get a better view of the scenery. Donald jumped last off the Gummi ship and it floated away up into the sky, disappearing from our view.

Donald and Goofy started walking away as me and Sora looked to where the Gummi ship was, dumbfounded. Wait...why did it just floated off into space. Sora blinked a few times, his jaw slightly opened as he pointed upwards. “Uhhh.....?”

“Don’t worry it’ll come back” Donald entrusted. Sora still wondered where it went but decided to trust Donald on this. The four of us began to make our way through the field, carefully passing by the flowers as we did so. Sora crossed his arms behind his neck and looked around.

“So where exactly are we going?” Sora asked.

“Hmm, well we gots to find some heartless or any sign of the King!” Donald explained. Sora rolled his eyes, murming something like, “That still doesn't explain where we're heading”

I rested my hands on my hips as I slowed down and glanced around. “Well, how about we spread out and check out the area. It'll be quicker so we could find out what we need to do!” I suggested. 

it’s pretty big. They never do show in the game how Sora, Donald, and Goofy actually GOT to Wonderland so maybe they fell in here….’

Being the curious knuckle head I am, I go towards the hole, get down on my knees and slowly starts crawling in. Sora looked around, wondering where I went when he noticed the hole. “Hey Michelle!” Sora yelled. “I’m just checking this out. Don’t worry” I assured still crawling. I was in the hole pretty deep as I kept moving.

I stopped at the edge noticing it lead somewhere. “HEY GUYS! I think this tunnel leads somewhere!” I yelled. I looked even more but doing so I started slipping. “Oh shit!” I said while I fell. I grabbed the edge of the ground and sighed in relief. “Phew” Then I heard Sora, Donald, and Goofy coming when I heard Goofy say “Whoops”

“GOOFY!” Both Sora and Donald screamed before I knew it I saw the three of them falling on top of me making me loose grip of the ground. We all started falling down the hole that seemed to never end. “Great” I muttered as we were falling. Then we started falling slower and it seemed like we were like gliding down. Sora was doing back flips as Donald was swimming in mid-air, and Goofy was on his back sleeping.

I spinned around in the air trying to avoid the various furniture that was there floating. “This is kind of freaky” I said looking down seeing the floor was coming closer. “But it’s awesome” Sora countered, swimming mid-air past me. I rolled my eyes. 

I stepped on to the floor first then Sora, Donald, and Goofy last, falling flat on his stomach with a thud. I looked around the room. “This place is bizarre” My voice echoed. Out of nowhere, a white rabbit wearing clothes, glasses, and holding a rather large pocket watch appeared passing Goofy, seemingly tired.

“Oh, my fur and whiskers! I’m late, I’m late I’m late! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I’m here, I should be there. I’m late, I’m late, I’m late, the queen, she’ll have my head for sure!” he yelled running to the hall way, disappearing from our view. I blinked a couple times, trying to take in that a rabbit wearing clothes just talked and said he’ll be dead if he doesn’t get to a certain place in time. 

“Wow” Sora and I muttered. Goofy got up and I looked to Sora and Donald. “Should we follow him?” I asked. He shrugged. “Yeah” So we went towards the hall way he went and saw a door. Sora opened it just to see another, slightly smaller door. He opened that one to see another. He started getting annoyed as he opened this door. There was no door behind it just a way in. I walked in, bending down a bit. We entered a kitchen, seeing the rabbit, smaller then before, going through a small door and closing it behind him. We went towards the small door and looked at it. 

“How did he get so small?” Sora questioned, kneeling down to get a better look. “No, you’re simply too big” The DOOR SAID?!?! “Wah” Was our reaction to the….creepy door that randomly spoke.

“It talks!” Donald screeched. The door yawned before saying “Must you be so loud? You woke me up.” Goofy waved and said “Good morning” The door looked annoyed, yawning again. “Good night! I need a bit more sleep” The door said closing his eyes. Before the door could go to sleep Sora yelled “Wait! What do we have to do to grow small?” The door looked at Sora annoyed but yawned again. 

“Why don’t you try the bottle…over there” he suggested looking over past Sora. 

We turned to see a table appear off the ground along with a chair behind it. That’s when two bottles also appeared on the table. The door yawned and went back to sleep. Sora, Donald, and Goofy went towards the bottles and looked at them. Ya know, I remembered talking to one of my friends about this place and she said that the guy who made it was on crack. I’m starting to believe her now. 

“So who’s going to drink it?” Sora asked. “Not me” Donald replied. “Why not?” Sora asked. “Who knows what’s in that!” “Oh c’mon, it’s not gonna kill you!” Then the two started to argue, leaving me and Goofy to decide. “Should I or should you?” I asked. He shrugged and grabbed the bottle. 

Goofy took a sip and in a poof he turned small. I looked to the bottle and shrugged. I grabbed it and drank a little of the liquid. I felt a little funny but then in a second I turned small. ‘Whoa!’ I looked at myself trying to see if anything changed but all that changed was now I’m small. Sora and Donald were still arguing, ahhh it hurts! Too loud! 

“SORA, DONALD! CAN YOU GUYS JUST DRINK IT?!” I yelled. They turned around noticing me and Goofy were already small. “When’d you get so small?” Donald asked. I tapped my foot impatiently while the two looked to each other and nervously laughed. They took a sip and also turned small. “Finally, now let’s go back to the door” I said. 

“Yeah” Sora agreed, going to edge of the table. We jumped off the table and headed towards the door, only to see it snoring, loudly. 

“Ah man!” Sora said. “He fell asleep” Donald cried. I looked to see the opening that was hidden by where the bed was. “Hey let’s go though here” I said pointing towards the opening in the wall. They looked towards it, bewildered at the sight of it. I mean...I am slightly too because it certainly wasn't there before! 

“Where did that come from?” Sora questioned. I shrugged.

“I dunno but let’s go see” I encouraged. We walked into it, walking into a garden like courtyard. Guards like cards were there, along with the rabbit, and a rather large woman in a place that looked like a court. A girl with blonde hair wearing a blue outfit was standing there and I had automatically knew that it was Alice. The rabbit went up the stairs and played the trumpet.

“Court is now in session!” He said, still out of breath. 

“I’m on trial? But why?” the girl asked. 

The bunny took a breath before answering “Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!” He bowed a little as the woman opened her eyes. She glared at the young girl before her and pointed to her. 

“This girl is the culprit. There’s no doubt about it.” She said.

“And the reason is……….because I said so that’s why!” She yelled. My eyes widen as did the girl’s too. “That is so unfair!” The girl yelled. “Well have you anything to say in your defense?” The woman asked. 

The girl pointed her finger to her saying “of course! I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong! You may be queen, but I’m afraid that doesn’t give you the right to be so……so mean” “Silence!” The woman yelled at her. 

“You dare defy me?” She yelled slamming her fist on the table. “Hey, guys, we should help her out.” Sora said. “I would! She’s getting blamed for no reason” I said. “Yeah but the—” “We’re outsiders, so wouldn’t that be muddling?” Goofy asked. 

“MEDDLING” Donald pointed out. “Oh, yeah, and that’s against the rules.” ‘Stupid rules’ Sora and I were watching the trail very carefully. “The court finds the defendant……….guilty as charged!” She yelled pointing her heart staff at her. The girl and I gasped.

“For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart….Off with her head” She yelled. The girl started freaking a little as the guards turned to hear, holding there spears. Sora knew this was getting bad, looking like he was about to butt in. 

“No! No! Oh, please!” Alice clutched the front of her shirt tightly as her head turned around to see the approaching guards. I frowned and glanced over to Sora and nodded in agreement. “Let's go!” Sora called out. We rushed forward, pushing past the card guards that came in our path. 

“Hold it right there!”


	4. Off With Everyone's Heads!

I feel like this is going to be the beginning of charging without a plan. Yeah, I can already feel it.

Pushing past all the guards, everyone turned towards us as we reached beside Alice. I looked over to her, seeing her eyes wide in disbelief but she smiled in appreciation as I nodded back to her. Facing back to the Queen though, I could see a growing number of guards coming from the sides and behind causing me to gulp. Now I'm starting to question what we're doing here. Yeah, should've listened to Donald. The Queen of Hearts stood up from her chair, her face growing red as she pointed a staff towards us. 

“Who are you? How dare you interfere with my court?” The Queen bellowed, the ground vibrating. Jeezes, this woman knew how to shout. 

“Excuse me, but we know who the real culprit is!” Sora politely informed as Donald and I nodded in agreement. "Oh?" The Queen of Hearts and the White Rabbit seemed surprise by the information. Goofy nodded as he held up a hand. "Uh-huh. It’s the Heartle—” Goofy covered his mouth with both hands and Donald shot him a glare, muttering something along the lines of 'Meddling is going to be the death of me'. 

Sora shook his head, looking back to the Queen. “Anyway, she’s not the one you’re looking for.” Sora expressed. The Queen frowned deeply, her crown tipping forward and she leaned over the table. "That’s nonsense! Have you any proof?” Demanded the Queen of Hearts. Proof....oh boy. I darted my eyes to Sora noticing the once confident demeanor dropped the second that the idea of proof needed to be presented. "Uh..." 

"Then she is still guilty, off with her--"

"Wait! We do have the proof!" I jumped, noticing the guards were heading closer. Shit, shit, I opened my mouth. Ummmmm. I bit my lip, darting my eyes to the cards, to the bush, to the Queen, to the guys, to the woods--THE WOODS. 

"We do! We have the proof," I said once more, taking a confident stand. The Queen quirked her lips, tapping her fingers against her chin. "Then let us see it" 

"We don't have it here though, your Majesty, we placed it away to keep it safe. We did not want those crooks to know we were onto them incase they tried to enact their plan again," I lied, scratching my neck. Please work, please work. I rather keep my neck right now. The Queen of Hearts grimaced, rubbing her chin firmly when a short man rushed up the stairs, propping beside the Queen. "My dear, if we continue the trial, we'll be able to fill in the loose time till the Croquet Tournament!" 

The Queen grimaced, tapping her fingers on the table as she gave a defeated sigh. "All right, PUT THE GIRL IN THE CAGE" Two Black Ace guards immediately jumped up, grabbing Alice by her arms and heaved her up, bringing her to one side of the court while we looked on, unable to really prevent it. The Queen coughed loudly, catching our attention once more. 

"Bring me the evidence of Alice’s innocence! Fail and it’s off with all of your heads! Gather as much of little evidence as you please. Report back here once you’re ready.” The Queen told us. Donald gulped loudly and I couldn't help but touch my throat. Off with my head...not gonna happen right now. Or anytime soon for that matter. 

“This is what happens when we meddle…..” Donald looked accusingly towards Sora. Sora merely rolled his eyes in response and began heading towards Alice's cage. Goofy and I gazed over to each other, darting our attention back to Donald and Sora before silently agreeing to walk over and see the poor girl. She gripped the bars, a wearisome expression across her face. It lightened up only slightly when she caught notice of us. “Who are you?” She asked. 

“I’m Sora” 

“I’m Michelle” 

“I’m Goofy, and that there’s Donald.” Goofy said. 

“Pleased to meet you, though I do wish it were under better circumstances” She said referring to her in the cage. “I’m sorry you all got mixed up in this nonsense” She apologized. 

“It’s no problem, but why are you on trial in the first place?” Sora asked curiously. 

“I should like to know the very same thing! Apparently I was guilty from the moment I took the stand!” Alice exclaimed. “That’s crazy!” I gasped. Sora hummed thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. “So where are you from? You don't look like you're from here.” He asked. Alice opened her mouth to respond when she paused, her eyes widening. “Hmm, curious, I can’t quiet remember. You see, I found this mysterious rabbit hole. When I tried to peek inside, I tumbled in head over heels….And I found myself here.” She responded. 

“So you’re from another world!” Sora unconsciously shouted. Alice seemed quite perplexed by that while Donald and Goofy darted their attention “That’s funny maybe you don’t need a ship, then.” Goofy thought out loud. “I don’t get it” Donald quacked. They were off in there own conversation when Alice said confusingly “What do you mean ‘another world’?” But before the guys could say anything the card guard next to the cage grew annoyed. “ENOUGH! The defendant will be silent” It yelled.

“Please hurry back” Alice pleaded. “Don’t worry, we’ll prove you innocent! Promise!” I yelled. “Head towards the Lotus Forest over there! You may find clues” She informed us. Sora thanked her and we began to go into a mysterious looking forest. 

“All right, we gotta move fast and find clues to prove Alice’s innocence!” Sora said. “I totally agree with that question is—where do we start!?” I asked. Sora was examining the forest with Goofy’s help while Donald muttered ‘We’re still meddling even though we’re not suppose to’ I was trying to think on where those boxes were. I remembered the boxes had a certain heartless but I still had trouble finding them. 

“Look up” A voice echoed above me. I felt like I shouldn’t but I slowly looked up only to come face to face with a cat…not any cat either, the Cheshire cat. After all these years, horrible images from childhood sprung up because of that cat's face. 

“AHHH" I fell back, nearly ramming into Donald when he turned, demanding when he noticed the cat was right there too. "WAAAAAAAH" He jumped ten feet into the air before landing in my arms and I could only respond with scooching backwards. The head appeared again in different spots, then finally appearing on the tree stump next to us. There was a body balancing on the head, and then it kicked the head up and placed it on its body. 

“Hey you okay?” Sora asked, running over with Goofy, before noticing the Cheshire Cat balancing on his head. “Crazy thing caught me off guard” I responded weakly, pushing downwar. I quickly stood up and dusted my self off, glaring over at that smiling evil cat. 

“Who are you?” Donald said jumping up and down in frustration. “Who, indeed, Poor Alice, Soon to lose her head, and she’s not guilty of a thing!” He said. Sora crossed his arms and said “Hey if you know who the culprit is, tell us!” “The Cheshire Cat has all the answers—but doesn’t always tell.” He then started to fade and said “The answer, the culprit, the cat, they all lie in darkness” He then completely vanished before we all got the chance to yell “WAIT!” I groaned in annoyance. “Oh c’mon! He didn’t even tell us anything that we didn’t even know!” I complained.

“They’ve already left the forest. I won’t tell which exit. There are four pieces of evidence in all. Three are a cinch to find. The fourth is tricky. Big reward if you find them all.” That was the Cheshire Cat’s last advice before nothing more was to hear. 

“Should we trust him?” Donald asked finally calmed down. He reappeared in front of me and Donald making us scream. “To trust or not to trust, I trust you’ll decide!” And he disappeared once again. Donald eyes were wide but crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance trying to show he was scared. “So there are clues but where, we don’t know. Let’s just split up into two’s and meet up in an hour to see if we find anything!” I decided. Sora looked at Donald and Goofy and asked “You guys okay with that?” Sora questioned. Donald and Goofy nodded. 

“All right, Michelle and I'll go to the right side of the forest while you guys search this side” “I still don’t trust that cat…thing” Donald muttered, walking along with Goofy. I laughed softly, even though I agreed with Donald. “So you ready to go?” I turned to Sora and nodded. “Yeah” We had soon separated, leaving me and Sora to soon get lost in the forest. What felt like an hour of searching, we came up with nothing. 

“Ugh…we’re never going to find the clues in time to help Alice” I muttered staring at the ground. Sora stared at me and said “C’mon Michelle, have a little faith” I smiled but my face grew serious when I said “All right but seriously? How do we know what’s clues? There not gonna be wrapped up in boxes waiting for us to find them” Sora shrugged, leaning against a tree to think. That’s when something hit his head.

“Ow!” Sora cried in pain, clutching his head. I couldn’t believe it. A box had hit Sora’s head, and just rolled up to my feet. A Pink box that had small markings on them that were shape of footprints, but the ones they reminded me of was the shadow heartless. “Foot prints?” I questioned picking up the pink box. Sora grumbled angry thoughts as he stood up beside me and looked. 

“Hey, they are foot prints” “Wow, I didn’t think it was literally going to happen” I joked, tossing the box a couple times in my hand. Sora huffed in annoyance thinking out loud “You didn’t think it was going to land on my head either, did you?” I snickered and began walking while Sora ran to catch up with a questionable look on his face. We began looking around again, through out the entire forest again, till we stopped in front of a tree. That was definitely was NOT there before.

“Why is there such a big door way like hole here?” 

“I don’t know, maybe we should go in” I suggested. Sora gave a suspicious look to me before sighing. “Well we don’t really have any other choices now do we?” Sora was the first to step in while I followed. That’s when I knew we made a terrible mistake. “OH CRA--" I felt my entire body plummenting downwards while the I soon felt my feet hit the ground and I opened my eyes. ‘Thank god, I thought I was a goner for a minute there...’ I sighed happily. We had ended up in a familiar looking room and I kept looking around till I realized where we had landed. How the heck do we end up from the Lotus Forest to the Bizarre Room?! Uhh so confusing. 

“Hey, I found another one!” I looked to my side seeing Sora holding a box. It had a different pattern on it and seemed familiar to antennas. Just like the shadow heartless had. “Okay, we found two. How much more you think there is?” Sora asked. I shrugged. In the game, I only found four which is the highest you could go. But what happens if it’s different here and you need to find more then four!?!? Oh this is going to bother me for a while. 

“Hey!” echoed though the room making us perks our heads up. “Did you hear that?” I asked. “Yeah, sounded like Goofy” Sora thought. We then heard another echo “Sora, Michelle! Look up!”

“Donald?”

Sora and I looked up and saw Donald and Goofy waving from on top of the board of the wall. They both were holding the same identical pink boxes, swinging it above there heads. We soon met in the same place (after Goofy had accidently slipped taking Donald with him and they both fell to the ground with a loud crash) we held each box. “So the clues are in these boxes?” Donald asked. Sora gave a nod. 

“Should we open them?” I asked. “I don’t think that’s a good idea” That voice. It was the cat….! “Here we go” I growled, turning around to face the table. The Cheshire cat laid upon it staring down at us with amused eyes. “Well, look what you’ve found. Nice going” He said. “Now we can save Alice.” Sora said. “Don’t be so sure! She may be innocent but what about you?” ‘Huh?” What do you mean?” I asked, folding my arms. 

The Cheshire Cat stood up and said “I won’t tell. But I’ll give you something” with a snap I felt a cold sensation coming all through my body, sending shivers. Why was I so cold all the sudden!? “We learned Blizzard” Donald gasped. ‘No wonder I’m freezing’ I thought, rubbing my arms still feeling cold. “We better get back!” Sora suddenly decided. I nodded in agreement and looked back to the table to only see that the cat has left. “I wonder where he goes when he leaves like that” Sora questioned as we headed back towards the Queen’s Court yard. 

“Who cares” Donald and I replied. We arrived back, seeing Alice with a worried look on her face, the Queen with a slightly angered, impatience look, and the white rabbit, terrified. “Have you found evidence?” She demanded. Sora nodded. “Only one of you is allowed on the podium, the others stay over there” One card mentioned, pointing to the side like where those people sit during jury duty. I looked cautiously to Sora but he nodded confidently and I went along with Donald and Goofy. “Now, show me what you have found.” The Queen ordered. Sora placed all four boxes and had a grin on his face. “Well, that’s certainly a lot of evidence but I’m still not impressed.” “WHAT” I almost yelled unless for Donald and Goofy covering my mouth.

NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE!? 

Do you want me to open all of them and throw all the heartless at you lady!?! That’ll be enough evidence for ya! Sora still had a confident face even though it showed signs of tense. “Cards, Bring forth my evidence!” She ordered. A black diamond card ran up holding the same kind of pink box and placed it next to the ones we had collected. “Hmm it would be a waste of time to look through them all. So pick one!” Sora looked at all 5 that were randomly mixed up before he knew it. “That’s unfair!” I growled quietly. Donald seemed like he was biting his finger off, if only he had some. 

Sora randomly picked one and the guards moved the other four. “Are you sure?” “Yeah” A guard carefully opened up the box and suddenly an armored heartless jumped out the box only to disappear right after that. She was over the edge, wide eye, in disbelief. “What in the world was that?” She demanded in an angered tone. “Your evidence!” I yelled from the sidelines. Sora nodded in agreement and looked at the Queen of Hearts. “There’s your evidence. Alice is innocent.” Sora said. The Queen looked furious, her face started to turn red. “Rrrrrrrgh……….Silence, I’m the law here!” She yelled slamming her fist against the wood. Even from over there I could feel the ground shake. 

“Article 29: Anyone who defies the queen is guilty!” She yelled. “That’s crazy!” Donald and I shouted. The cards started to come out of nowhere and the guard that was guarding Alice began pulling her up from a small tower in the middle of the court yard. “Seize them at once!” All the cards started coming right at us and the first thing came to my mind. “Duck!” I crouched low to the ground dodging a thrown spear by one of the guards and summoned my keyblade. 

“Just perfect!” I muttered and slammed the keyblade into the red ace in front of me. Three black cards surround me and Donald as Sora and Goofy tried to get rid of the tower. “Blizzard” Donald yelled shooting at a card. I swung the keyblade at the card behind me and then the one that came in front of me. Donald kept shooting blizzard at the cards while I hit them. “Fire” I yelled shooting a fire spell at the tower. A part of the tower crumbled as more cards appeared. ‘Oh great! We’re being attacked by walking/talking cards, can anything get better then this!?’ I thought angrily blocking some cards from getting to Sora. 

“THIS CASTLE ISN’T BRAKING!!” Donald cried annoyingly from the other side. “Sora, let’s switch!” Sora nodded in agreement as he took down some of the cards and I started bashing the castle. It was actually kind of fun! I was trying not to giggle because I was thinking. I finally know what I’m gonna do when I’m older. ‘DESTROY BUILDINGS WITH EXPLOSIONS!!!’ I thought as I slammed the keyblade down on the building. “Watch out!” Goofy threw his shield, hitting a card that tried to attack me from behind. “Thanks Goofy,” I thanked. The castle was close to being destroyed when I jumped back. 

“FIRE” I yelled. The burst of flame didn’t hit the castle, just a random card that blocked it. I glared at the castle when I cried annoyingly “Uggh, why am I cursed with such bad aim when I need it most!?” I cried annoyingly. I flipped the keyblade over my shoulder blocking a spear that nearly got me. “Sora! Michelle! Let’s use fire together!” Donald suggested after casting a blizzard spell at one of the cards. I looked over to Sora who was looking at me then back to Donald. 

“All right! Goofy cover for us!” Goofy nodded and tossed his shield hitting Sora’s surrounding cards. “FIRE!” The three of us yelled. Flames came from the tip of the keyblade and hit the castle with the other two fire spells. Sora slammed his keyblade at the castle which did the trick! It started to crumble and collapsed. “All right!” I cheered. But I should’ve noticed that the cards had surrounded us.

“Ughhhhh” Sora mumbled. The Queen’s face was seriously furious but she wasn’t looking at us directly. The cage Alice was in was released and it came to the ground. The curtains moved out of the way and guess what? Alice was not there. “She’s gone!” I gasped. “She must’ve gotten kidnapped while we were fighting” Donald observed. I wanted to scream in annoyance since the cards were still surrounding us, but they were staring in astonishment at the cage and some stared in fear to the Queen. And as on cue, the Queen grew furious. 

“You fools’!” The Queen of Hearts yelled, furiously. “Find the one who’s behind this! I don’t care how!” She yelled at the cards. The cards jumped and started to spread out, running all over the place. I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked seeing Sora. He was pointing to the forest where Donald and Goofy were running over to. “Let’s go!” Sora whispered. I nodded quickly and ran with Sora to the forest entrance. I panted when we got to the forest. “That was too close!” Donald gasped, lying down. “I wonder what happened to Alice” Sora thought out loud. 

“You know what! I betcha that Cheshire Cat knows!” I suggested. Just as I said that one of the abnormally large flowers opened up and a stone went flying out. “HOLY SHIT!” Sora and I screamed. It landed in the pond next to us making a large splash and a ton of water hitting us. “Blah!” I spat water out. Sora was shaking his hair and it still remained spiky. Donald had a fish in his mouth and he spit that out. Goofy pulled off his hat and a bunch of water poured out. I looked back to the stone and saw IT! 

“Should’ve known” I spat. Cheshire Cat. Why!? “Have you seen Alice?” Donald asked. “Alice, no, Shadows, yes!” “Where did they go?” Goofy asked. “This way, that way, does it matter? Left, right, up, down! All mixed up thanks to the shadows!” he riddled. I stared ridiculously at him. Why does he have to talk in riddles!? “Step deeper into the forest to the deserted garden, you might find shadows in the upside-down room!” He suggested confusingly before disappearing once again.

I hate that cat…

“Wonder what that garden he’s talking about is” Donald said. We were walking in the forest to see if there were any places that we could find that room. “Hey, maybe it’s in there, we never went in there before” I suggested, pointing towards an opening in the forest. Sora nodded and was the first to go in. We ended up seeing a table set with plates, cups, anything you would see on a regular table for parties. The chairs were a little weird looking. A painting was at the end of the table showing two people looking pretty sad. 

“I guess this is the place” I muttered. “Seat down and get your present?” Donald said looking at a poster. Sora and Goofy looked at it with Donald while I looked at the door. I tried remembering where to go when we entered this room. You gotta admit that if you ever played this game that you at least got lost in the Lotus Forest maybe more then three times. I seriously got lost here five times or more. 

“Guys, I think we’re suppose to go—” 

“WHA” I sweatdropped when I saw all three boys on the ground. “Sora...Donald…Goofy…? What happened?” “We sat down, cake exploded…..” Sora groaned getting up. I rolled my eyes. “C’mon, let’s go this way. I have a feeling we should” We entered seeing the kitchen like bizarre room before, but upside down? We looked around and noticed the Cheshire Cat. 

“They’re hiding somewhere, and the momeraths outgrabe. Want to find the shadows? Try turning on the light.” He suggested. He yet again disappeared. “That’s getting really annoying with his disappearing act of his” I commented. I looked up at the lights and I pointed up. “I guess he’s talking about these ones” I pointed out. Sora nodded in agreement. “How we’re gonna get up there?” Goofy asked. 

After many (failed) attempts of getting up there (like trying to do the ladder but Donald fell backwards, trying to jump there but couldn’t reach to it. And trying to throw someone. Aka Donald who screamed like a little girl when he missed) But finally after climbing up it, me and Donald lit the first one up. Sora and I jumped to the other one which we lit up as well. The room brightened up and the Cheshire Cat appeared on the other side. “All the lights are on. You’ll see the shadows soon. They’ll arise in this room, but somewhere else. The shadows might go after the doorknob, too.” He mentioned. Sora raised a brow and was going to ask something but the Cheshire Cat disappeared in thin air.

“What does that mean?” Sora asked. “Something is going to happen and we got to stop it” I answered. “But how are we gonna get down there—” Donald pointed up where the table and the doorknob were which was technically down since we were upside down. “if we can’t go through the Queen’s court since we’re wanted criminals now!” Donald cried. Goofy rubbed his head when he pointed out “Hey, why don’t we go through there?” We all turned and saw a secret door. 

We walked over, opened it up and entered it. “Sshh! We’re back in the Queen’s Court, run” I suggested. Hiding from one of the hedges we ran for the door back to the Bizarre room. We entered seeing the Cheshire cat on the table, lying down and staring at us with that creepy smile of its. 

“You’ll have a better view from higher up,” He suggested. I really was getting annoyed of this cat. “Let’s just go” Sora muttered. We got up to the table from climbing up the stairs and faced the cat. “Okay, we’re here. Now what?” I asked. He got up and did a weird pose, smiling that very creepy smile of it’s AGAIN! “The shadows should be here soon. Are you prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!” He said, pointing up. Right then something jumped right above us. 

“The Trickmaster!” We watched as it landed in front of the door knob and then did a back flip over us, landing on the other side of the table. It stood straight up and started juggling its pins. “Oh shit….” I muttered before yelling “I’m guessing that’s the shadow that cat was talking about!” The heartless boss of Alice’s world…… ugh I have to fight with pyro, juggling heartless thing. I took out my keyblade and pointed directly at it. Have to have some kind of a battle stance right? Sora charged first at the heartless as he leapt off the table and landed some direct hits to head moves. Donald and Goofy were next as Goofy tossed his shield and it started hitting the Trickmaster. 

“Blizzard!” Donald and I yelled. The ice spell came from our weapons and went towards the heartless. It pulled one of its juggling pins and blocked it with that. “Damn! We should never fight small again!” I thought angrily. They jumped to the ground and started attacking it from down there casting all sorts of things. Sora jumped up and slammed the keyblade into the head causing it to start loosing balance. I gulped when I saw the moment to attack. 

Did I really want to jump across a gap of air to attack a random heartless that’s trying to kill us? “I got it!” I charged from the middle of the table all the way to the edge. I jumped off the table and attacked it from the head so hard I think I twisted my arm. It lost balance and crashed onto the ground, unable to get up. 

“Yes!” I thought, still descending in midair. “Blizzard!” Donald and Sora casted in unison.

I landed back on my feet and saw the three guys fighting. It seemed so weird. It was like I had the remote controller in my hand and I was back home playing the game. But since this was actually reality I didn’t notice Donald who was backing up and shouted “FIRE!” My eyes widen when the fire spell hit the pin and it alit on fire. “DONALD!” I yelled in anger. “WHAT!?” “IT USES FIRE TO ATTACK!” I cried in annoyance. Donald eyes widen especially when the Trickmaster began to stand again. “Oh great" Sora muttered sourly. “Nice job Donald…” Donald snapped at himself. 

I stared and my eye twitched, HOW ARE WE GOING TO BEAT THIS FLIPPIN TALL THING!?!? It tried hitting us with the pins as Sora jumped to the table and attacked the head. He managed to hit it multiply times. It fell again, letting us get to attack it. Suddenly it swung the pins around hitting all of us. I landed on the ground along with Goofy and Donald while Sora managed to hold a grip on the table. 

The heartless stood up once again and tried to strike us once more but we kept dodging. It then began turning and walking over to the stove in the room on the fire place. I’ve always wondered why there was a stove on a fire place…kind of dumb when you think about it. “Uh-oh! He’s lightin’ up them pins of his!” Goofy pointed out. Donald and I sweatdropped. 

“Like we didn’t know that” Donald muttered. The Trickmaster turned towards us and I took my chance. “BLIZZARD!” I shouted and the ice hit the heartless. It didn’t seem to affect it really and it swiftly slammed down the pins knocking me off my feet. “HOT! HOT! HOT!!” I blew on my hands feeling the close impact. “Blizzard! Blizzard!” Donald kept shouting that as Goofy began spinning his shied in a circle. I was about to run when it started shooting fire balls at me. “HEY! WHY I’M I THE SUDDEN TARGET!” I yelled in rage.

I ran towards the chair and jumped up on it. “WHOA!” I made a quick leap to the table and barely made it when the chair was roughly knocked away. “Hey, Michelle you okay?” I looked up seeing Sora offering me a hand. “thanks, and yeah I’m okay” Sora turned and looked down seeing that Donald and Goofy got the Trickmaster on the ground for the third time but it quickly recovered and managed to get on its feet again. “How are we going to beat Mr. Tall and Juggling Heartless!?” I thought panicky. In the game I just pressed like a bunch of buttons and planned my attacks but this is real! And I can’t tell if we’re winning or loosing!? “We need to attack at the same time!” I turned and looked over to Sora. 

“That’s probably the best way!” Sora resolved. I thought about it giving a small frown before it turned to a smirk. “But how about we get rid of those flaming pins of his with some blizzard?” I questioned, spinning the keyblade in my hand. Sora smiled and gave a nod to the response. We both ran to the edge of the table and I screamed “HEY DUMB HEARTLESS! CHECK US OUT!” I didn’t think it was going to work but when it turned and started swinging at us I knew I was an idiot. It fired a fireball at me and I dodged roll out the way. 

“BLIZZARD” Sora and I yelled. The ice both hit the burning pins causing it to smoke and diminish the fire. I suddenly was knocked off the table by the heartless hitting me with a burned out pin. I felt something hot on me and I regrettable looked down to my jacket as I fell. I jerked in surprise seeing that it caught on fire. “Shit!” I cried. I landed on the ground with a thud and looked down to my jacket; still it was catching on fire. “Shit, Shit!” I thought as I repeatedly patted the fire off.

“Great it’s burned” I cried looking at my jacket. That heartless messed up my jacket. “It messed with the wrong girl, burning my favorite jacket,” I angrily thought. “AH! You’re going to pay for that!” I yelled. The chair was knocked down near the table so I decided to take a chance and made a big jump. I barely grabbed the table till a hand grabbed me and pulled me up. “Thanks again!” I thanked. Sora smiled and I knew he had the same idea forming in his head. 

“Let’s take down this heartless” Sora suggested. I nodded and turned towards the heartless. Donald and Goofy had it distracted. “AHHHHHHH” we yelled charging off the table and slammed our keyblades right in the head. For a flash instance, I swear I saw electricity coming from the tips of our keyblades. 

The Trickmaster fell to its knees, desperately trying to get back up but fell flat onto the floor. A giant pink heart left the body and the heartless vanished. I landed on the ground and tiredly sat down. “Ughh I hate that thing,” I murmured. Sora rubbed his neck and let out a relief moan. “Well what do we do now?” Donald asked, fixing his hat. A yawn was heard and we all turned to see the door, starting to wake up. He blinked a couple times as he looked to us, slightly annoyed. We walked over to hear more (and or cause we didn’t know what to do after that) 

“What a racket. How’s a doorknob to get any sleep?” He asked. He yawned again, this time showing a key like hole in his mouth. We all looked into it and saw it began to start glowing. 

Sora’s keyblade suddenly started acting up and shot a ray of light towards it, making a loud lock noise. Donald, Goofy, Sora, and even I had blank looks on our face; none of us knew what just happened. “What was that?” Donald asked. “I don’t know, but you guys heard that click noise? It sounded like something closed.” I pointed out. The keyhole faded the door knob and something popped out of it. I stared at it trying to think of what it was. “What is that” I thought as Goofy picked it up and looked at it. “This Gummi ain’t like the others. No, sir” Goofy confirmed. “It’s a gummi block?” I asked. Goofy nodded. 

“Yup!” “Okay, I’ll hold on to it” Donald offered and took the block from Goofy. 

“Splendid. You’re quite the heroes,” Shivers went through my whole body when I heard that voice. We turned to see the Cheshire Cat standing on the table, staring down at us. “Where’s Alice!?” Sora shouted, annoyed. 

“If you’re looking for Alice, she’s not here. She’s gone!” 

“What?!” Donald and I hollered. The Cheshire Cat began to disappear as he continued “Off with the shadows, into darkness,” He completely disappeared, hopefully his last appearance. Damn I was about to throw my shoe at the evil cat too. “No……” Sora muttered. I sadly looked to my feet and sighed heavily. “Let’s go back to our Gummi ship. We might find her in another world.” Donald suggested. Sora shook his head in agreement and we returned to the gummi ship.


	5. Where Heroes Gather

Getting back on the Gummi Ship after that....fun....time in Wonderland wasn't as quiet as I expected it to be. It was mainly Donald and goofy that kept the conversations going, creating some kind of echo in the cabin. Sora was pretty quiet for most of the time, gazing out the window while Donald and Goofy continued to talk. I made the one or two attempts in the conversations but I mainly kept quiet, thinking about all that had happened. What had happened to Alice....where could she have possibly gone? 

I mean...it sucks when you do know where this person is. Then again, I'm completely useless in helping. I can't do anything to help her right now. Yet again there was this awkward silence within the room and I groaned in annoyance. I decided it was time to hit the sack. Standing up, I decided to head towards my room, slightly closing the door before plopping on my bed. This really sucks. 

I didn't think this would bother me as much as I intended it to. Great, now I feel like crap. I hummed lowly, staring wearily at my ceiling, wondering how it could've been different. I'm here just looking for my friends and family...I mean....joining with Sora, Donald, and Goofy is a great boot, but how long will it be before things really start affecting me? 

My fingers drummed along my arms as I stared up at the ceiling blankly. Honestly...I'm still soaking up all of this. I exhaled gently, sniffing lightly before I rubbed my eyes from the water forming at the corner of my eyes. 'I hope nothing happened to anyone...I don't think I can bare loosing them,' I thought. I turned on my side, shutting my eyes wearily. Maybe if I could get a few minutes of sleep.....

 _I thought I told you, don't sleep unless you want to go back._

"Hmm?" 

"Michelle?" 

I opened my eyes, blinking slowly. Wait a second, who was that? It sounded like....that weird dream I had...before all this started.

“Hey Michelle? I didn't wake you up, did I?" I sat up, stretching as I waved a hand back. "No, you didn't. I was going to take a nap but I changed my mind." I turned, looking towards the doorway to find Sora was there. To say the least, I was a bit surprised he was there. I swung my legs over the side of my bed, resting my hands on my knees. "Hey, what's up?" 

Sora's lips quirked, his gloved hand reaching back to rub the back of his neck. His gazed dropped to the ground and I could only wonder if he was still thinking about Alice's disappearance. "This may sound a little random, but I was wondering if you could tell me more of where you're from?" Asked Sora. My eyes widen slightly, my head tilting slightly. 

"Really?" I was surprised by Sora’s sudden question. Sora nodded, closing the door behind him as he crossed his arms, leaning against the door. "Donald is still grumpy at me about meddling in Wonderland, and I know you didn't have much of a positive note about your world....so I was curious on why" Sora explained. 

I grimaced, recalling how negatively I sounded when I explained about my world. It just....Earth...there was no way to describe it. Hmm. I rubbed my chin, thinking more specifically of my home. Hmm.

"Well....I might've been a little harsh when I was explaining it....I was speaking from a broad term...."I recalled, scratching my cheek. "My world is huge....really huge. There was people of all kinds, races, languages kind of created a barrier between us but we manage to learn to get along...some...not all. Hmm.....but my home is a small place. It's apart of a bigger piece of a country--"

"Sounds like you had a lot of chances for traveling, hmm?" Sora smiled and I smiled back in response, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, it was actually a dream of mine to start traveling, I wanted to see the wide horizons my world had to offer." 

"Hey, that's what originally I wanted to do too." Sora pointed out. "My home island is sort of big, there's a few islands that isn't that far either. One of those islands was where all the kids hanged out for who knows how long. My friends Kairi, Riku, and I were planning to build a raft and sail out, maybe to find new worlds," 

"Jeez...that sounds kind of dangerous," I drummed my fingers against my crossed arms "What were you guys going to do if you didn't find anything??"

"Go back, I mean, we planned enough food and water for a week or two just in case." Sora explained. "We knew the risk but we were ready for them!" I could feel my expression drop, looking extremely deadpanned. Well, at least they were prepared....but seriously....did their parents even know or talked to them about this?? 

"Riiiight" I drawled, dropping my arms behind onto the sheets, leaning back slightly. Sora nodded eagerly before his lips quirked, nodding slowly. "So, do you have any body you're looking for?" Sora questioned, his tone dropping. I parted my mouth to answer but I pressed them back together, frowning. "Yeah...my family....my friends...honestly, finding anyone from my world is great motivation to look right now" I answered briefly. 

Sora hummed, frowning lightly. "What happened that day for you?" 

“…I was getting the mail for my mom when they started coming. They blocked the doors so I couldn’t see my mom. I just ran…..” I didn’t want to finish that sentence. I shook my head and placed a hand on my head. 

‘I was such an idiot for doing that,’ I thought depressingly. I breathed heavily, trying to get the awful truth out of my head, but it kept coming back. My world was gone, lost in the darkness. My family, friends, classmates, any body I ever knew and anyone I didn’t were all gone. I was alone...

"We'll find them." 

"Huh?" I picked my head up and looked him straight in the eye. He smiled, nodding confidently. "Yeah, we're friends now, friends have each other's back. I mean, you guys are helping me find Kairi and Riku, it's the least I could do." 

I blinked once, the thoughts in the back of my head fading away and I could only smile weakly in response. This kid... "Thank you, Sora" 

"Hey Sora," 

"Yeah?" 

"If--if you ever want to talk like this again, can always knock on my door," I smiled gently "I actually don't mind. It's strangely comforting" 

"Heh, all right," Sora grinned before shutting the door. I smiled and laid back on my bed, shutting my eyes. Thank god he came in....maybe I could sleep more peacefully...or attempt to sleep that is.

“We reached another world!” Donald yelled. Are you serious!? I groaned loudly, tugging the pillow over my face. It's been hours, HOURS, and obvious when I tried to get some sleep is when we NOW find a world. I almost fell asleep unless for Donald....barging into my room. “ANOTHER WORLD!!!! WAKE UP!” I yelped and fell to the ground. “I heard, I heard! JEEZ! Let’s go to the new world!”

[Time Skip]

Watching the Gummi Ship fly off into the sky, I smiled as the trio went ahead towards the very large building ahead. It had a large door with pillars next to it. Two LARGE statues of fighters were a shield and sword was placed above the pillars. I whistled at the site. The Olympus Coliseum is one sight to behold. Wow, the coliseum is huge! I could only wonder how long it could take to make a place like this. 

“Wow…this place sure is big” Sora commented, his hands on his waist and staring at one of the statues in awe. “I know. Hey, should we go inside?” I suggested, pointing towards the pair of doors that lead inside the coliseum. Sora nodded and lead as we followed him inside the coliseum. When we entered inside, not much was in the small room...cept a Satyr, standing on a peninsula, looking over some rules. I blinked in astonishment. Whoa. 

“Um…” Sora raised his voice slightly, trying to capture Phil's attention. 

“Good timing. Give me a hand, will ya?" Phil responded, keeping his back to us. "Move that pedestal over there for me, I gotta spruce this place up for the gaaames," I gazed around the room till I noticed the pedestal that was next to the wall, tilting my head as I rubbed the back of my neck. That? 

“He wants us to move that?” I whispered, gazing down at it. Sora nodded. “Think its heavy?” Sora asked with Donald shrugging. Sora crouched, pressing his shoulder into the pedestal and grunted. I blinked a few times while he simply remained unmoved, groaning slightly. “It weighs like a ton!” He responded as he began to use his back. Donald rolled his eyes. He went over, beginning to assist...yet it wouldn't move. What? 

“Seriously, I could use a little help” I rolled my eyes and I decided to help. I went to the other side and grabbed hold of it. I gritted my teeth and began to pull it towards myself. Holy snapple! It had to be impended into the ground. I growled, pulling with all the mere strength I had as Goofy came to my side and began to assist. Even though their was four of us, none of us could do it!!

“Man! It weighs like a freaking ton” I whispered in annoyance. Sora groaned, persist on trying to move the stone. “See I told you!” He growled. All four of us continued trying to move the pedestal but it was clear to tell that none of us were going to move it anytime soon. I slumped onto the ground, exhaling loudly while the other three continued. "I am not strong whatsoever..." I groaned. “I can’t move it” 

"It’s way too heavy!” Sora agreed getting to his feet. Phil jumped in place, finally hearing what we've been saying. “What? Too heavy?! Since when have you been such a little—" Phil actually turned and got a surprised look on his face. Seems like he was thinking we were someone else~ 

“Oh. Wrong guy, what’re you doing here?” He asked. He jumped down off it and walked towards Sora saying “This here’s the world famous Coliseum—hero’s only!” He continued talking as he walked over to Donald.

“And I got my hands full preparing for the games. So run along pip-squeaks.” Sora frowned in response, clearly offended. Looked more like a pout over where I was standing. Phil put his hands on his waist and sighed. 

“Look, it’s like this. Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the Coliseum.” He said proudly walking across from us. “Seems like fun” I joked, crossing my arms behind my head. “You got heroes standing right in front of you.” Donald said folding his arms, nodding firmly. Goofy put his hands on Sora’s shoulder. “Yup, He’s a real hero, chosen by the keyblade!” Goofy said. 

“And we’re heroes, too.” Donald backed up, resting his hands on his sides. Phil stared at us with a disbelief expression when suddenly he pointed at Sora and asked “Hero? That runt?” He started laughing. I frowned as Phil continued laughing. Now that's a bit rough. “What’s so funny? I’ve fought a bunch of monsters” Sora countered. “Even the sweet-cheek looks more of a hero then him” He joked still laughing. My glare harshened as I growled loudly. “Are you trying to say something, goat man” I demanded, drumming my fingers along my arms. He stopped laughing, noticing the glare. 

“Hey, if you can’t even move this—” He began starting to (attempting) to move the pedestal. “You can’t call yourself—”He was using his back at this point and looked like he was failing. I looked towards Sora, Donald, and Goofy who wasn’t amused. “— a hero!” he finished, falling onto the ground, groaning.After some more tries he fell down and started taking deep breaths, waving a hand to the pedestal. 

“Okay, so it takes more than brawn. Well, well, let’s see what you can do.” Wait what?

I grimaced immediately at the thought while Sora grinned. "All right! We'll show you what we're made of!" Sora said proudly. Phil scoffed and began walking down the dark hall. Sora and Goofy were the first to go while I simply stood in the hall. Donald turned, raising a brow. "You're coming?" 

"Uh...." I rubbed my neck, frowning. "I'm not...the most alethic person there is" I answered, feeling embarrassed by the idea of being ridiculed. Donald crossed his arms, frowning. "Hey! Come on! We got to show him we're better than he thinks!" He grabbed my arm and literally began dragging me after Sora and Goofy. 

"D-Donald! Aw crap!"

[Outside]

“Alright kid, you’re up first." Phil pointed to Sora while the teenager smiled challengingly.

"Then you’re next sweet--” Phil immediately stopped when I began growling once more, glaring. "I got a name” I responded. Phil rolled his eyes, focusing on Sora once more as the teen stretched his arms. 

"Right, right. You got 2 minutes to finish this, kid! All you have to do is break all the barrels I have set up in this course” Phil went back to Sora. Sora nodded and took a stand. Once Phil allowed him to start, Sora zipped through the area, summoning is keyblade to take out the barrel. I could only feel impending doom form in the pit of my stomach as I watched. Crap, crap, crap. I'm going to screw this up. I'm going to fall on my face. 

Sora ran the obstacle course destroying the last barrel and I could only dart my eyes to the timer Phil had. "1 minute and 47 seconds, not bad, for a beginner that is" Phil announced. "Wait what?! Only that?" 

"Better luck next time, kid!" Sora rolled his eyes at Phil while he set up more barrels. Sora grumbled as he walked over to us, his arms crossed. “All right, now it’s your turn girl! Same rules go for you, okay?!” I rolled my eyes and just stared ahead, feeling my heart pound in anticipation. 

“Reaaaaaady--Go!” I dashed towards the first barrel in sight, I swung as hard as I could. I was surprised the barrel even smashed in the first place. Continuing through the course, I somehow managed to take out multiple at a time, though it felt like I was taking longer. Go faster, gotta go fast! When I finished off the last one he stopped the timer.

“1 minute and 19 seconds. Pretty good. Not bad,” he complemented. Huh!?! "Wait what, really??" I panted, clutching my chest. Great, can't breathe. Ugh, exercise! I steadily made it back onto the ground, looking at Phil. "You sure that timer is working???" 

“Of course it is, but don’t get comfortable," He waved to the other side of the coliseum and I could only see nothing but training ahead. "We got a lot more coming” He warned. Sora and I shared glances, thinking the same thing. This is going to take a while. After two hours of training we went back to the room. Okay, that was actually BETTER then what I did in gym, at least I didn’t have to run a mile or something like that...

“You know, you ain’t bad, kids.” He said. Sora was rubbing his head saying “Looks like we’re headed for the games.” “Afraid not!” Sora’s eyes widen along with the rest of us, staring at Phil dumbfounded. “Why not?” Sora asked angrily. Phil held up to fingers. 

“Two words: You guys ain’t heroes.” Goofy was counting with his fingers and held four fingers, Donald also looking at him a little confused. “That was four words” I murmured. “Come on!” Sora yelled while Donald sighed in defeat. “Wanna try becoming real heroes? Start with mastering this spell” I felt a shock of electricity go through me. At least I didn’t get electrocuted by this point. The only bad thing about this— “Oh great I’m probably going to electrocute everyone with this” I muttered. We headed out the doors and back outside. 

“Why can’t we be in the games!?” Sora cried out. Donald was muttering things under his breath as Goofy said “Well I guess we need some kind of pass to get in them games” I continuously walked in a circle, while the boys were talking off to themselves, planning what to do next. “Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn’t you say?” A voice called out. I stopped in my tracks and slowly turned around. OH SHIT! 

“Umm guys!" I called out, turning my head to them. They looked up and jumped in surprise. “Who are you?” Donald said pointing at him accusingly. 

“Whoa, hold on there, fuzz boy, wait let me guess. You want to enter the games, right?” Hades asked, walking over to us. He placed a hand on Sora’s shoulder. “Well then, hey, get a load of this.” He snapped his finger and a little blue flame went through his hand, then suddenly a pass appeared in his hand. I’ve all ways wondered where in the world Hades got that pass from. Sora stared at the pass cautiously. “A pass?” Sora asked. He handed Sora the pass. 

“It’s all yours. Good luck, kid. I’m pulling for you, little shorty.” Hades said walking away. I looked to Sora then the pass, then to where Hades was at noticing he was gone. “He’s gone” Donald said. 

“Should we trust him?” I asked. I should've answered that really easily. No. Sora stared at the pass then to where Hades once was.

“I don’t know, but we can enter the games now” He cheered. I sighed. Sora is really optimistic isn’t he? But I started forming a grin as well as I said “Yeah and I’ll show the stubborn goat what I’m made of” 

“Then let’s show him!” We ran back into the Coliseum, noticing Phil was trying to fix something on the rules. “Hey Phil!” I called out. Phil turned and stared at us. “You four again!?” He shouted. “Didn’t I tell you guys already? No pass, no games” Sora grinned, pulling the pass from his pocket and showed it to Phil. He gasped and took the pass from Sora’s hand. 

“Hey, how’d you get this?” He asked. “We got our ways” I answered slyly. “Can we enter the games now?” Sora asked, ready to make a puppy pout if needed. “Well…..I guess so” 

“YES!” Sora and Donald cheered before Phil held his finger up. “We start with the preliminaries and work our way up from there” He said. I smiled brightly. Wow, I’m going to be in the games! Fighting off heartless and……Cloud. 

Fuck. 

“Ready?” Phil asked. 

“YEAH!” Once again we were in the arena and Phil was looking like a sergeant major in the army, staring us down seriously. Oh was I such an idiot, following Sora so quickly on joining in on the games even though I knew we were going to get our asses kicked by the final or second round. “All right! The rules of the preliminaries are simple. Beat the competition!” I sweatdropped. Phil sure is deliberant when he’s talking about winning. 

“You have to go through ten rounds! Got it kids!?” “YES!” Sora replied quickly. I nearly jerked my head towards his direction at how fast he said that. DAMN! Ten rounds of this? 9 groups of heartless and then we got to fight Spiky! Let’s hope we don’t get screwed just fighting the heartless.

“All right then! The first round starts in two minutes so you better get going” We all went onto the stadium and the first group appeared. Shadow and Soldier heartless were what the group was made out of. We quickly started attacking, a little difficult at first since there were the soldiers since they jump into the air and kick around weirdly. But I had to admit, when you actually get use with using the keyblade, it does get easier to beat certain heartless. 

You can start predicting how the shadows are going to attack you and dodge them. I used that whenever I’m playing the game. Watch how they attack and you’ll get an advantage on them. I slashed down the shadow when it jumped up in the air trying to attack me from above. Donald was taking care of the soldier heartless with Goofy’s help while Sora was taking a mixture of both. 

I wonder what would happen if he ever cracks at one point, getting sick and tired of fighting the heartless. Slashing at another shadow I thought ‘By next year it’s going to happen’ 

“WE DID IT! FIRST ROUND IS OURS!” Sora chanted, swinging his blade in front of him twice and placed it on his shoulder. “We’re heroes!” Donald cheered but only to get his foot stomped by Phil. “YOW!” “You’re no heroes yet. But you ain’t doing bad, for beginners” Phil complemented. 

“Lucky you came to me for couching.” He bragged. Sora and I merely stared in response. 

"Luck won't last here," I didn’t gasp, or scream, or smile hugely like any fan girl would, but I only turned around with the rest of the group. Cloud Strife. I couldn’t believe it. He's here, in the flesh. I was trying to resist from pulling my cell phone out and taking a picture. I failed least to say.

Cloud walked past us, glancing at us. I noticed Sora, Donald, and Goofy narrowing there eyes towards him. Cloud walked off, heading towards the other side of the arena. “Something tells me he’ll be a tough one to beat” Phil observed, rubbing his chin. “Let's assume he is....I rather us not drop our guard...” I commented. Unless we want to become acquainted with the ground. Sora gazed over at me boredly then looking back at where Cloud was at. “I bet we could take him,” Sora said confidently. Hahaha...haha....ha. 

Phil shrugged absent mindedly “Who knows, maybe you’ll end up facing him.” Phil said. Sora stared at Phil in amazement before asking “THAT GUY IS IN THE COMPETITION!?” Phil nodded. “He came by and registered before you guys came,” I glanced off to the tunnel where it was barricaded with bars, allowing no one in or out from there unless they were opened up.

“He’s not much of the talkative type either” If only I could peer through that darkness, I’d probably be able to see Cloud and Hades talking. Unless I’m mixing this with another part. I rubbed my temple trying to remember which part it was. 

“Eh, Michelle, what are you staring at?” I turned my attention to Sora who was staring at me weirdly. Uhhh. I blushed lightly, rubbing my neck. “I was just spacing out! I do that often,” I said. Phil rolled his eyes. “Well snap out of it! The next round is starting up, we don't need you going googily eyes on the competition!” Phil barked at us. “All right, let’s go!” Just as Sora said we seriously jumped off to the next round. You know, it’s all ready been nearly a week since I started hanging out with these guys and I’m actually not that much affected right now…

Well expect my moments in the room where I’m seriously depressed and want to cry my eyes out. Hey, how would you feel when you’re whole world gets devoured by darkness and there may not be a chance to see it ever again! Its depressing to think about. I think I was putting my anger out on the heartless with how violently I was slicing them. We defeated two more heartless teams before talking with Phil again. 

“Say you’re better than I thought, kids! Wish he was here to see this, you guys may go all the way” Phil said, dazedly thinking about something else. Sora tilted his head. “Who?” Sora asked. “Hercules. He’s a hero if ever there was one!” Phil bragged quickly. 

“Wow, is he here?” Donald asked, sounding interested. Phil shook his had sadly. 

“Nope. He’s off visiting his father, too bad .” Phil explained. We went back to face another team of heartless. Long fight short, slices, slice, burn up and freeze, and bash. We win that round! The last group of heartless we faced were a little annoying since they were that entire Blizzard using heartless. So Sora and I had to relay on our fire magic more then regular fighting skills. 

“FIRE!” I said hitting a near coming Blue Rhapsody. It disappeared into smoke and the small heart disappeared. I realized I talk to myself a lot but I just do it. The last heartless was defeated and we looked to each other with proudness. “Oh yeah!” I said spinning around showing a peace sign. 

“We’re in the final rounds" Sora chanted, leaving the arena with a satisfied look on his face. “I can’t believe it! You kids seriously might go all the way!” Phil said. Sora but his Phil started talking with us a little, saying that we’re not doing that bad but we shouldn’t get cocky and that we had one more group of heartless to beat before we fight Cloud. “Okay kids! This is your final opponent! This guy is the real deal and he won’t hesitate to beat you all to the ground” I flinched when Phil was looking at my direction. 

WHAT!? “So be on you’re best guard with this guy, if you all get beat, I’ll throw the white flag” Phil informed us. “We’ll be okay Phil” Sora said. “I hope you’re right” I glanced to the arena and gulped quietly. Walking on was hero icon of Final Fantasy VII. 

Cloud Strife.


	6. Those Who Fight!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We had come to the world Olympus Coliseum and Sora and Donald wanted to prove themselves that we were heroes but Phil didn’t allow it unless we had an entry ticket. We left only to meet Hades, Lord of the Underworld who gave Sora an entry card then disappeared. So we actually got into the tournament, but we had to go through the semi-rounds before we could actually go into the real tournament. We managed to fight our way to the top and the only person that stands in our way from victory and or could lead us to our defeat—Cloud Strife.

“He’s your next and final opponent, kids!!” Phil hollered from the sidelines. The crowd roared in anticipation for the battle that awaited us. I gulped heavily, gripping the keyblade tightly, looking at our opponent. Cloud Strife, oh boy. Have you ever had a moment when you're so bored that you actually think about a certain character and imagine fighting him/her?

Sounds weird I know but I do admit it.

I would like to take that back now. I don’t want to get acquainted with the ground right now. If anything, I rather keep all the blood within my body as well. Heck! I would be lucky if I even got to attack him without him slashing me into a bazillion pieces.

I glanced to Sora who was on my right with Goofy beside him and then to my left with Donald being on my side. Yeah….at the level we are at right now…we stand no chance. I grimaced, staring ahead once more. Yeah, this was going to end badly. I had that gut feeling. "We better be careful," I advised when the shield appeared in the arena.

"Don't worry, he doesn't seem that tough" Sora retorted, keeping his happy-go-lucky sprit.I was being realistic while Sora was off in his own little world imaging that we can actually beat him.

LOOK AT THAT CLAW HAND!

Did Sora even bother to notice it!?! And his sword was enormous compared to ours. Also, he’s tall. Compared to me and Cloud, he was like a half foot taller than me. Hey, don’t get me wrong, I’m 5'4! He’s like 5'9! Goofy’s not even that tall! He’s only 5’7 or something like that.

I’m doing it again… I shook my head my head, sighing faintly and took a stance. “I’m not joking, keep your guard up!”

Cloud tightly gripped the handle of his sword that was wrapped in bandages and held it in front of him. His stare looked like it was ready to slice anything in half at any given moment. "One," I mouthed. "Two," Sora continued. "Three," Goofy unknowingly finished.

“MATCH! SORA, DONALD, GOOFY, MICHELLE VS CLOUD STRIFE! BEGIN!”

"FIRE!" Donald shouted and in an instant, a small ball of flames was heading straight at Cloud. Cloud scoffed, simply slashed at the fire, cutting in half. "HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!?" Donald and I cried. YUP! I was so right! We’re fudged!

I gritted my teeth, leaping back along with Goofy as Cloud took a step back before sprinting forward, the tip of his sword barely touching the ground.

"Fire!" I yelled while Goofy tossed his shield at him. The spell zipped alongside the shield while Donald and Goofy took a defensive stand. Cloud merely ducked from the fire spell and lifted his sword, blocking the shield as it rocketed up into the air. I blinked and watched the shield go up while Goofy jumped around in place in an attempt to catch it. It only bounced off his head. I winched lightly before focusing ahead.

Here he comes!

Donald was getting mad as he continued to keep casting spells at Cloud who was dodging them skillfully. He seemed like he was mocking us or he was THAT good. Cloud leapt up into the air and Donald yelled, leaping to the side when Cloud smashed the spot Donald stood.

Holy shit, he smashed the floor. Oh god. Donald might’ve ended up becoming the next meal on the table. I grumbled, darting my eyes to Sora as he charged ahead, taking Cloud by surprise. Well…as much of a surprise as he could get. Sora swung at him and Cloud blocked, easily pushing off the teen with no effort.

Sora skidded across the ground and I rushed beside him, swinging my keyblade. “Fire!” The flames spun towards him when I turned swiftly, grabbing Sora by his arm. “LET’S MOVE!” I dragged him out of the way when Cloud managed to block the fire spell once more. Already I could tell he was getting mad, the electricity sparking off his body.

“All right, we need a plan for this, and I don’t know about you guys, but I have none” I admitted, letting go of Sora once we reached with Goofy and Donald. Donald casted a blizzard spell, grimacing. “Nope”

“Neither do I” Sora admitted.

“Hey, why don’t we try distractin him while you and Michelle attack?” Goofy came up with. Donald turned, looking at him I looked over to him, quirking my lips. There’s not much to work with so I think that’s the best idea right now. I shrugged lightly.

“Now wait a second” Donald began, shaking his head at the thought of the plan. I looked to the side before fully darting my attention, seeing Cloud heading towards us. “No time to argue! Just do it!” I

"Holy shit..." I muttered. I then decided, what the heck, at least hit him once. I charged straight at him and attempted to strike him when he blocked it with his sword. I glared at him then saw Sora charging at him. "YAH!" Sora jumped into the air and nearly hit Cloud but he blocked with the other side of his sword.

Now Sora was on my side, Donald couldn’t attack being that we were right in front of Cloud and Goofy was sadly knocked out from a concussion. "Damn..." I growled and pushed off from Cloud and Sora managed to attack him a few times! "Blizzard!" I yelled and the icy spell actually hit Cloud's sword. It froze from the tip to the middle of the sword. Cloud glared at me and jumped into the air.

'What is he doing' I began thinking when I realized what move it was. "Watch out!" I warned. Sora realized too and jumped back but Donald. "WAHHH!" He got hit and he smashed into one of the pillar, particularly the one that was right above Goofy. He slowly fell off and landed on Goofy who was finally recovering only to get knocked out again.

This seemed more like the manga then the actual video game. It was now only me and Sora, that's not good. “He’s really tough," Sora admitted making me get one those anger marks. "I TOLD YOU WE HAD TO BE CAREFUL!" I shouted. Sora scratched his head then turned to Cloud who was getting ready to attack again.

"Michelle, try to get him from the left while I distract him from the right!" Sora called out. I nodded, rolling forward as I dodged what could’ve been an off with my head. Sora dashed towards Cloud and attacked him but was mainly blocked by his sword. Sora continuously attacked him but it was getting difficult and I noticed.

GAH!" Cloud slashed at Sora knocking him to the ground. Oh fuck. He then slashed at me which i blocked but it had a punch with it. I skidded and charged at him and slashed at him which actually hit him. That’s when I got punched in the stomach and was suddenly kicked away.

"WHOA!" I felt my back hit against one of the pillars, knocking the air straight out of my lungs. I fell onto the ground, groaning and clutched my chest, attempting to regain my breath. I knew I was out. Ow, my back is going to feel that one in the morning.

‘Where the heck is Phil!?!’

I looked around and noticed he was coming in with a white sheet and then, guess who stopped him. Hades, of course, I remembered now, it was his plan to use Cloud so he could get rid of Hercules and he had to get rid of us too. Oh crap, he’s going to get rid of us!

I glared at him when I heard Sora yell and I looked over to see his keyblade skidding across the ground, his face neatly planted on the ground. I cringed at the sight as Sora weakly lifted his head up. I looked and saw Cloud walking over to Sora and I grimaced, getting up to my knees, seeing Sora was attempting to do the same. "Oh no...I gotta move, "I muttered.

“End them!” Hades shouted from the other side. I grimaced. No! Don’t end us!

Cloud looked over to the side before looking at Sora, his sword raised. He’s going to do it, he’s really going to do it. “Not interested”

“Huh?” All four of us snapped our attention to him, seeing Cloud lower his sword to the side. Sora sighed in relief and got to his knees. He held a hand out which Sora gratefully took. “You’re not finishing us?” Donald asked, Goofy assisting him up as I stood, rubbing my back. Cloud looked over to us, shaking his head.

“I wasn’t hired to go and kill kids, only Hercules, and even that plan is starting to seem rather ludicrous,” Cloud admitted and I smiled widely along with Sora. Then my eyes widen, turning to the side as I saw Hades furious, glowing from the tunnel when he snapped his fingers. Oh no.

"WATCH OUT!" I shouted suddenly. Cloud’s eyes widen, about to turn when a large black paw crushed him.

“Cloud!” Sora gasped, flashing his keyblade out. Following up the paw to find the owner was none other than a menacing, three headed hell hound of the Underworld. Cerberus. “Not the time to help him unfortunately!” I exclaimed quickly, grabbing Sora’s arm. Looking briefly back, I dragged the boy even faster when another paw came in our direction, nearly crushing us in the process.

Holy shit, this is Cerberus! I never thought that the dog could be THIS big?! We’re going to die. I snapped my attention to the side, glaring to Hades. “Hades!” I called out.

“Oh, right, there was one other rule I forgot: Accidents happen.” Hades remarked before disappearing in a puff of smoke. I glared at the spot where he stood while Sora, Donald, and Goofy prepared for battle. Battle! Wait! “Hey, hey! What are you kids thinking?! You’ll get yourself killed out there!” Phil shouted, rushing over to us as people screamed and escaped out of the arena.

“We need to help Cloud out!” Sora defended and I shot my attention to where Cloud was pinned under the paw then the beast that was currently pinning.

“Guys, I know you want to fight but we have to get out of here!” I informed the trio, trying to think as reasonably as possible. We are not strong yet. Let Wonderboy weaken him up. “Michelle’s right kids, none of you are strong enough to even tire down this thing, let alone beat it!” Phil agreed, shaking his head.

“But what about Cloud?” He asked. “You’re expecting us to leave him—” Sora was interrupted by the loud growl, forcing our attention to the situation at hand. Cloud was about to get his head snacked on by one of the three heads. I gasped loudly, swinging my arm out and grabbed hold of the keyblade. It was going to be too late though. The heads retracted, growling ferociously and lunged down.

In a blur of movement, the center head was suddenly unable to move

“Herc!” Phil yelled while I gapped in disbelief. He’s seriously pushing Cerberus back. My god he’s so freaking strong!! Oh yeah!! Hercules was there and saving Cloud’s lucky ass!

“Phil, get them out of here!” Hercules ordered. I looked worriedly at him but then I remembered ‘He’s a god! He could take care of himself for pete’s sakes!’ I reasoned and nodded, taking a few steps back and making sure the others were getting out. Sora was still looking back as Donald turned. “C’mon Sora!!” Donald shouted, half way in the hall causing Sora to jerk his head and yell “WHEN DID YOU GET THERE!?”

I cautioned but I finally decided to run with Goofy by my side. We ran back to the lobby, relieved. I held my hand against my chest feeling it rising up and down quickly. I sprinted, I get tired easily! Donald was on the ground panting, Goofy was using his hat as a fan while Sora leaned against the wall trying to catch his breath.

“Whew, that was close,” Phil sighed in relief, grunting before turning to the rest of us. “That was Cerberus, the guardian of the Underworld”

“The Underworld?”

“Yeah, Herc should be able to handle him.” Phil then put his hand to his chin and muttered, “But then again, maybe not”

Phil was going bipolar on us. He seemed calm but then he started freaking out but then relaxed again only to flip out on us. “…..This doesn’t look good….” He finally deemed.

We huddle up, wondering what to do next. “We should help him! I mean taking on that three headed dog on his own AND saving Cloud is pretty big” Sora said, determination written all his face.

“I agree. He needs to get out with Cloud while we can beat Cerberus!” I suggested thrusting my fist into the air. Donald looked at both of us like we were crazy. “BUT IT’S HUGE!” Donald cried in defense. “So?” Donald just muttered…….or quacked something.

“Let’s go then” Sora decided. Just as we were going to run out Phil stop us saying “Kid, you’re not entering the arena, are ya? This ain’t just some match. This is for real!” Sora turned to Phil, nodding.

“I’m not afraid!” Sora declared.

“You can decide if I’m hero material or not” My expression dropped, turning to look at Sora. Imagine; this is going to go on for another year. Fantastic. “Not this again”

“Careful kid!” Hey, you got to at least praise Sora for getting us into places that some others would never! I mean, Phil’s really just letting us walk into our deaths! I paled a bit while running. Maybe I shouldn’t have thought that.

Coming towards the end of the hall, we entered the arena. I saw Cerberus cornering Hercules, who was holding Cloud over his shoulder. Cerberus was REALLY close to him. I would be dead on the floor if he was that close like that.

“How do we get that dog’s attention?” Donald muttered to me. I started blowing making Donald look at me strangely. _I thought I could whistle. Well, let’s try this._

“What are you doing?” Not answering, I took a deep breath.

“HEY STUPID THREE HEADED DOG! LOOK OVER HERE!” I bellowed. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumped, looking surprised I was even able to shout that loudly. I mean…I talk somewhat loudly but then I mutter a lot. I have the potential. “Great plan Michelle….” Sora complemented. I was grinning widely. That’s how I catch people’s attention! They immediately grabbed hold of their weapons when surprisingly the Cerberus’s ears perked up.

They turned in unison to see us with our weapons in hand. I looked over to Hercules by the wall, directing my head towards the hall that lead to the Lobby. “Run! We got this!” I yelled. Hercules nodded and took the chance to get out of there, holding onto Cloud carefully. Phil appeared by the doorway as Hercules moved past him.

“Kids, I got two words of advice for you: Attack!!!”

“THAT’S ONE WORD!” Donald and I yelled in response while Phil and Hercules ran into the lobby. Cerberus turned around to face us. He started walking towards us shooting fire balls at us. I rolled to the ground to dodge one.

‘Damn!’ I thought looking at the burning crater.

“Now I know to AVOID THOSE AT ALL COST!” I screamed the last part when three more aimed at me.

They began cornering us at the stadium rows and I used that as my advantage. I jumped on to the seats and smacked the left head. I slashed it three of more times before falling to the ground. Donald was casting thunder as Goofy kept hitting its head with his shield. Sora did what I did and also hit the head, but he managed to hit it more times then me. Cerberus started snapping at Donald and Goofy even more.

“GAH! IT ATE DONALD!” Goofy shouted. I gritted my teeth, glaring as I charged forward toward the heads. “LET GO OF THE DUCK!” I yelled and jumped on top of the head and slammed the keyblade on the left head. Nope. “Wrong one!” I jumped over to the middle head and slammed the jaw open. “GAHHHH!!!” Donald jumped out and fell to the ground. As much as I wanted to help Donald get back on his feet, I could only hear the growling coming from behind me. Loudly.

“FIRE!” I spun, casting the spell into the center head’s eyes. It roared loudly, flinging me back onto the ground with a sloppy keyblade. “Ewww!!”

“Aww Donald, c’mon, wake up” Goofy was shaking Donald but it was clear to see he was out. Shoot. “Goofy here!” I tossed him a potion and I immediately began to use my fire spells to distract Cerberus from Sora. Donald woke up then began trying to get the drool off him. Cerberus got on his hind legs standing up making both me and Donald look up.

“LOOK OUT!” We both yelled running backwards onto the stands. Sora and Goofy narrowly dodged the shake they caused. I sat up and looked annoyingly at Cerberus. I couldn’t tell if we were winning or not! IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE!

“Hey! Let’s do a combination spell using Goofy’s shield!!” Donald suggested.

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Sora agreed. Goofy tossed his shield and we all pointed our weapons to it. “BLIZZARD!” We yelled. The icy spelled coated the shield turning into an icy projectile, heading right towards Cerberus. DIRECT HIT! It hit smack in the middle head and caused it to get dizzy.

“Now ours chance!” Sora and I jumped off and sliced, diced, and slashed the evil dog heads. Suddenly they started regaining consciousness. “Can’t you just go down?” I yelled still hitting it. It shook its head violently throwing me off. I rolled to the ground but I got up. Donald and Goofy were combining attacks trying to help Sora who still was on.

“WAHHHH!!” I looked up saw Donald and Goofy being smacked into the direction where I was! “Uh oh” I dodged roll out the way while they crashed behind me. I stood up and looked down at them. “You guys okay?” I asked. Donald raised his hand and shakily gave a thumb up then it fell. I shook my head sadly.

“Here!” I tossed two potions to Donald and Goofy. They nodded in thanks and we went right back to help with Sora. Cerberus started shooting fire balls at us but we lucky dodged.

“Blizzard!” I yelled shooting a blizzard spell at them. It blinded the eyes! I couldn’t believe it! I aimed right for once! Sora took the advantage and jumped up into the air, making a direct strike on the middle head, hard, really hard. It got on all fours and then fell to the ground. I starred in total shock at Cerberus then at Sora. He looked even more shock then he started grinning.

“You defeat—defeated Cerberus!” I croaked. Only a week after a met him, he beats a freaking three-headed dog with a direct strike. That is….

“Amazing,” I remarked, blinking widely at the sight to real to be true. I shook my head trying to figure out everything that just went on then looked back at the twitching Cerberus.

“Guys, I think we should go before Cerberus wakes up” I suggested already starting to hightail it out of there. We walked back inside of the Lobby to see Phil and Hercules. “We defeated Cerberus!” Sora yelled with a huge smile on his face. Phil was shocked then he cheered “I knew you can do it!”

“Sure you did, Phil” I muttered

After a while of talking, (and Sora and Donald asking Phil if they could be heroes) Phil got out a paper and said “Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further...”

“Hey! What do you mean ‘junior heroes?!’” Donald interrupted, his face starting to turn red. “After all we did?!” Phil looked annoyed and put his hands on his hips. “You rookies still don’t understand what it takes to be a true hero.” He explained. Goofy hummed, tilting his head slightly. “So, what does it take?” Goofy asked curiously.

“Well, that’s just something you’ll have to find out for yourselves. Just the way I did.” Hercules explained making us look to him. I grinned brightly. Nice answer Herc. “No problem. We’ll start by proving ourselves in the games” I declared, resting my hands on my hips. “Then we’ll show you that we have what it takes!”

Phil shook his head and pointed towards the hall to show a ‘closed’ sign. “There ain’t gonna be any games for a while. Gotta clean up the mess from that last battle first.”

“Okay, then we’ll be back.” Sora said waving. We left the lobby and walked down the steps.

But you know what sucks, its nice to know that you beat something on your own, but then again, I’m in a video game I played so many times, I just realized that Hercules fought and WORE out Cerberus before we even came into the arena. I pouted, stepping down the stairs and sighed. If it wasn’t for him though, we’d be dead. So, I’ll take it.

We walked down the front entrance and saw Cloud sitting on some steps near where the Gummi Ship was hanging outside. He looked like he was deep in thought about something.

I stopped walking along with the others and decided to ask, “Hey, are you all right?” He looked up at us. “Yeah.”

“So why did you go along with him, anyway?” Sora asked. “I’m looking for someone. Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired.” I frowned, kind of never understood what he meant by that. What did he mean?

“I fell into darkness, and I couldn’t find the light.” He finished looking up at all of us. Sora hummed lowly, nodding. “You’ll find it, I’m sure. I’m searching too”

“For your light?” Cloud questioned.

Sora nodded, smiling lightly. Cloud got up, walking over to Sora and dropped something in his hands.

“Don’t lose sight of it” Cloud said walking off. Sora looked to his hand then back to Cloud, but I jumped up and waved my hands around yelling “How about a rematch sometime? Fair and square, no dark powers involved!”

Cloud turned around and flipped his bangs out of his face. “I think I’ll pass” He said. Sora smiled while I pouted. I really wanted to fight Cloud again! I smiled then looked to my jacket, grimacing immediately at the sight.

Totally destroyed.

I sighed annoyingly and tied the sleeves to my waist then turning to the three. “Come on you three let’s get going. I think my jacket suffered enough from these worlds we’ve been to,” I complained sadly, taking off my jacket and folding it up. The three chuckled as we went back to exit the world. Just as the door closed I swear someone came right after we left.


	7. Deep Jungle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Michelle had to defeat Cerberus when it threatened Cloud’s life. The four managed to beat the monstrous giant and had become Junior heroes, much to Sora’s and Donald’s dismay. We headed back onto the Gummi Ship to continue our exploration of the other worlds! Though it seems we all should get a well-deserved nap--

I yawned loudly, rubbing my eyes as I slouched in the chair. I cannot keep my eyes open. This is agonizing. I don’t think I can handle staring at a window for another two hours thinking the next world is right there. I even took a shower and that was not able to help. Well, not have been able to sleep for the past couple of days….barely with a few hours of sleep in me is to blame. Now is probably the best chance to completely knock out.

“All right, I’m going to take a nap… or just sleep…both sound ideal.” I exclaimed, yawning in midsentence. I only got a snore as a response seeing that Goofy was already sleeping in his chair. Donald was in control of the ship, ear plugs in the side of his head in an attempt to block out Goofy’s snoring.

I groggily walked down the hall, opening my door and shut my door. Even from down here I can still here Goofy’s snoring. Ugh.

I grimaced, grumbling incoherently when I flopped onto the bed, gripping onto the thing sheets. For a few minutes, I thought I was dozing off for a minute but something was keeping from it. Something uncomfortable. For a minute I thought it was in my phone, but last time I remembered, I left it on the table in fear that it would get destroyed.

I blinked wearily, flipping over to the night stand and pulled the cord on the lamp. Once the light turned on, I sat up on the bed, rubbing my eyes. I grimaced, fumbling in my pockets, noting that once we get back to Traverse Town that I would invest in pjs and a new jacket. Finally I found the cause of the pain and pulled it out of my pocket when I gasped. I stared at the single piece of technology I learned to love dearly throughout my middle school years.

“My Mp3 is alive!!!” I cried holding it close to me. I giggled, rolling side to side in bed. Oh this is great. I can tune out Goofy’s snoring with it now!!!

I smiled, embracing the Mp3 once more before unraveling the headphones from around the body and turning the mp3 on. Flipping through songs, I ended up listening to the soundtrack for Full Metal Alchemist. I shut my eyes, letting myself drown into the music. Maybe I can finally get some—

Knocking interrupted any potential for sleep now. I opened my eyes, muttering as I sat up. I had to say something. Of course I had to say something.

“Michelle, are you awake?” I grumbled, nodding wearily. “Yeah…come on in….” I yawned once more, turning to adjust the pillow before completely slumping against it. The door opened up momentarily and Sora stepped into the room. I waved wearily.

“Wh-What’s up?” I yawned. Sora quirked his lips, raising a brow. “Are you sure you’re awake? You seem like a zombie…no offense”

“I’m offended” I sarcastically replied. Yawning once more, I shook my head roughly and sat up. “Nah, it’s okay. I can spare a few minutes I’m sure. So what’s up?”

“Well, I overheard you yell earlier….wanted to find out about what” Sora expressed as I blinked a few times. Comprehend what he said and what he meant….err….oh.

“Oh, I was yelling about my Mp3. It holds music,” I waved the device slightly from the headphones showing it off. “I didn’t know I had it in my pocket this whole time.” I explained to him.

“That’s cool”

“Hmm….was that all you wanted to ask about?” I asked, kind of hoping the answer would be yes. I’m trying not to be selfish, but god, sleep.

“Well, I wanted to ask actually about who you’re looking for…I know you said your friends and family”

I hummed lowly, nodding gently as I turned the Mp3 off. “Well, my family I’ll keep an eye out for but who knows…if they’re out there,” I paused, rubbing my chin “my friends….hmm….this is really difficult to answer” I crossed my arms in front of my chest, humming. “There’s a few to say the least…..but….if I found Jazmine and Frances….maybe they would know…”

“Hmm?”

“Jazmine and Frances,” I turned, smiling. “They’re my two best friends. They know and live closer to my other friends too so maybe if I find them I’ll be able to find out more about the others. That is….if they’re even out there” I exhaled gently, looking to the ceiling. “I can only hope they are”

“Hmm,” Sora rubbed his chin as I laid back again. “Jazmine and I go back a little longer than Frances, she’s a bit of a book fanatic….and Frances is a bit of one too….though she also likes drawing…..they both have brown eyes and brown hair too…..and they both wear glasses”

“They sound like sisters,” Sora laughed and I smiled lightly in response. “Yeah, I think I’m the only one in the group of friends I hang out with that doesn’t have glasses”

Sora smiled lightly at that.

“All right, as much as I would love to continue our chat, I do really need to get some sleep. I would be useless to help out in the next world” I exclaimed wearily, yawning loudly. Sora nodded, heading towards the doorway. “All right, have a good sleep”

“Mmm….thank you” Once I heard the door close, I slumped back, turned my music back on and fell into a deep sleep.

[Time skip]

Mm….

My eyes flickered open, the heaviness in my body resisting the full reasoning system to wake up. I hope Sora wasn’t knocking on my door again…mmm….how long have I been asleep?

I propped my head up, blinking wearily towards the door. Mm….as much as I want to stay in bed, I know I should get up. Maybe if I’m lucky we’re at a new world.

I yawned wearily, rubbing my neck and threw my legs over the side of the bed. Standing up, I headed towards the door, slipping slightly from a bit of turbulence. When I grabbed the door, the floor rocked violently. I fell upon my knees, my fingers clenching tightly against the cool metal. Wh-What the?!

I bolted up and swung open the door, skidding into the hallway and into the wall. My shoulder slammed, gripping onto the wall for support. My attention snapped forward to the driver’s station to see Sora and Donald were arguing. Goofy was beside them, trying to calm them down but it seems to no avail.

“WHAT IS GOING ON?!” I hollered, rushing over to the trio. Sora and Donald turned their attention towards me and I immediately do not like where the way they were looking.

“We found another world, yet Donald doesn’t want to take a look around!” Sora accused, Donald growing red.

“In a backwater place like that? No way! Let’s move on!” Donald snapped in response. “Riku and Kairi might be down there!” Sora argued. I darted my eyes between the two, honestly in disbelief. What?! Seriously?!

“Forget it! We’re on an important mission!” Donald yelled. I narrowed my eyes, feeling my anger already pipe. As much as I did not like joining in arguments, I couldn’t stand when they were over something pointless.

“An important mission to stop the heartless in each world,” I reminded curtly, resting my hands on my hips. “And you promised to us that you would help us find those we care about and in return we would help find the King”

Donald grew into a dark shade of red, his feathers ruffled and I could only huff in response. “What, that flew over your head?”

“Our main mission is to look for the King!” Donald responded and I frowned. Stubborn duck. Why can’t you listen to reason?!

“Just land!” Sora groaned in aggravation. “NO!”

I threw my arms into the air, turning and stood beside Goofy. It was not looking pretty with Donald and Sora, they kept yelling back and forth. I turned to Goofy, frowning. “What can we do? We’re not gonna accomplish anything if they keep arguing” I stated, pointing to the two.

Goofy hummed, nodding in agreement. “Maybe we can just get them away from the Driver’s seat and we’ll figure it out from there” Goofy suggested and I raised a brow. That’s actually not a bad idea. Actually that’s smart. Really smart.

“All right, I got Donald, you get Sora” I suggested.

“Come on!” Sora snapped.

“Aw, phooey!” Donald stood up on the chair, finally reaching Sora’s height. “I’m in charge of the ship, I say we’re not landing!”

“We’re landing!” Sora declared. He suddenly grabbed hold of the steering wheel and suddenly jerked it down. The ship rattled and tilted and everyone slid forward. “Don’t touch that! No!” Donald suddenly lunged at Sora and the next thing I knew the steering was slammed forward and the ship began to head down.

My front slammed into the chair as Goofy gripped onto the other side. Donald and Sora were still yelling and fighting each other while the meantime Goofy and I were holding onto the chairs for our lives. I gripped the armrest of the chair and reached for the wheel. Once in hand, I gripped it tightly and pulled back.

“It’s not moving!” I cried loudly. “Goofy, please tell me you know how to fix this!” Goofy rushed beside me, gripping onto the wheel and on the count of three we pulled as hard as we could back.

“It’s no use! It’s busted!” Goofy remarked and I groaned.

The boys slammed beside us, hitting onto the multiple buttons across the dashboard before they went back onto the ground. The ship suddenly jerked back and I skidded across the ground, stopping myself from completely flying all the way to the back of the ship. I climbed back up, Goofy gripping onto the chair entirely. I could see multiple lights flashing, blinding and blinking rapidly.

“Goofy, what does it mean if all the lights are flashing right now?!” I questioned nervously, a bead of sweat running down my head.

Goofy looked to what I was looking at and he gulped loudly.

“Uh…the Auto-Crash had been activated” He answered. I turned my head to him as he laughed nervously. Okay…..okay…don’t freak out. My heart was beginning to pump faster as I could feel my face pale. Okay, I’m freaking out.

“WHO WOULD PUT THAT ON A SHIP?!?!” I screamed, nearly bursting his ear drum. “WHO INVENTED THE GUMMI SHIP AND WOULD SERIOUSLY PUT A BUTTON LIKE THAT!?”

“Hang on!” Goofy yelled.

“Ah man!” I cried holding on to the seat. We were close to the world now and the door was wide open, air trying to suck us out. I tried to keep grip to the chair, holding on to for dear life. I looked back, seeing finally the two had stopped fighting and Sora was gripping onto the floor. I gritted my teeth, turning slightly. “Hold on Sora! Just—”

The ship rocked violently and the next thing I noticed Sora slid and fell out of the ship.

SORA!” Goofy and I shouted. My eyes were wide in horror. DUDE! HE JUST FELL OUT OF A PLANE THAT’S PROBABLY 500 METERS IN THE AIR! I KNOW HE’LL LIVE BUT GOD THAT’LL GIVE A HEARTATTACK TO ANYONE!

The ship then started spinning in a circle, going really fast. My entire world was spinning as I tried hugging the chair tighter, shutting my eyes as I could feel my stomach flip. I’m going to be sick. I’m going to be sick. I groaned, feeling incredibly lightheaded, nauseous becoming increasingly overwhelming. The ship rocked violently again and I hit my head against the ground. I gripped my head, suddenly realizing the error as I began sliding down.

“Nonononono!!” I shouted as I slid vigorously, slamming my hands against the smooth floor. Nothing could stop my inevitable fate as I slithered down the floor and into the air. “CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP”

“AH! I’m going to die!!” I screamed, flailing my arms. I rolled and turned, falling hopelessly to the jungle below. I closed my eyes and hoped for the best, **NOT** **DYING**. I ended up hitting through several layers of leafs, branches smacking and scratching my arm as I continued falling. Crap, I need to grab onto something or else I’m really going to die. I reached out to several branches, most of them braking in result. CRAP!

I managed to grab hold of another branch, snapping roughly in my palm. I twisted, suddenly being yanked. What the hell! I gripped onto the broken branch when I suddenly stopped. I hugged the branch, there was no ground. Ugh…how high was I from the ground….

I cracked my eye open, grimacing when I looked towards the ground. …..I think I was only four feet from the ground. OH SNAP.

"Whoa!”

The vine snapped, unprepared I attempted to land on my feet only to fall flat on my face with a really loud thud onto the dry soil. I groaned wearily, digging my fingers into the dirt. You know, this isn’t bad. It could’ve ended up much worse than just the aching headache I’m having right now. I rolled over, groaning louder once my back decided to get in on the aching pain. Crap.

“Uhh my head……..that really hurt,” I murmured, stretching an arm upwards. At least I could still move.

“Oh my! What was that?”

I grumbled, rolling onto my front and pressing my hands against the ground to slowly push myself up. My arms quaked from trying to hold myself up but I took the time I had to look at my surrounding. It wasn’t the jungle that’s for sure, it was an open site that had been cleared out and paved with tents, boxes, and many equipment that was scattered around. I blinked a few times, looking towards the tents then to the flagpole near it. A British flag waved proudly in the air and my thoughts were beginning to come together once again.

I made it to the Campsite in Deep Jungle. Well…that was lucky. At least I’m not going to die in the jungle. I groaned loudly, finally forcing myself to sit up and take a look at the sky.

“I just survived a really high fall, how?” I pondered.

A flap pushed open and a woman stepped out into the open. Shoulder length light brown hair wearing a yellow blouse and a long green skirt. Jane Porter was the first name that appeared in my head while she looked around cautiously. She finally caught sight of me and gasped loudly. “Oh my word!” She rushed over, kneeling over. I must’ve been really dizzy because I could only catch that she was asking, “Oh are you okay?! Did you get hurt?! Where are you from!?”

I rubbed my head and nervously laughed. How to answer this… “Well yeah, I just kind of fell…mm” She stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Oh, you’re an American. So you’re the one that made the ruckus a minute ago,” She questioned. Was it that obvious to tell I was an American? Well, the accent must have gave it away.

“Yeah that was me probably” I admitted, rubbing my head. She extended a hand out and I gratefully took it, wincing as she assisted me up. She frowned, brushing my bangs out of my face.

“Dear, you really had an awful fall, come along now. I have a medical bag inside the tent and I can make some tea. We can discuss more inside,” She offered. I opened my mouth to try and argue but the dizziness was becoming a bit unbearable.

I simply nodded, following after her as she led me inside of the larger tent. I blinked a few times, examining around the tent while Jane stepped aside to rummage through some bags. It was a quaint, cozy little living space. Cots were towards the corner, while books covered most of the space along with a few cabinets. An old projector stood in the center of the room with chairs neatly beside to admire the multiple slides. I sat down upon one of the chairs, rubbing my temple gently when Jane came over to me.

“Here, take some of this medicine, it should help with the pain. Then this should help with all the cuts on your arms” She handed me two tablets, an alcohol bottle, and a roll of gauze. I blinked gently, nodding, smiling weakly at Jane’s kindness.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it” I told her and she smiled back in response. “Honestly, you’re the first human I’ve seen in days beside my father and Mister Clayton—” She paused, tilting her head. “You’re not…by any chance with the gorillas, are you?”

“Oh no! I just got lost from my team. We kind of…got shipwrecked,” I explained to her. She nodded, pulling up a chair and sat across from me. “So tell me, what brings you all the way from America to Africa? It is a bit unusual to see Americans this far, especially one as young as you are.” She questioned politely.

I quirked my lips, settling my feet to the ground and swayed them slightly. “Well, I’ve been exploring a lot of places recently with my team, you can say, we’re acting as a self-established peacecorp.”

“Oh, for a moment I thought you was apart off the expedition. Though I am curious on how you ended up in the jungle” She asked once more. “You said you were shipwrecked earlier, didn’t you?”

I darted my eyes around momentarily and shrugged exaggeratedly. “Honestly it was a blur, too much happened in one moment to describe how I ended up here” I told her. Well, it wasn’t a lie! It was all still a crazy blur.

From the corner of the room, I could hear a whistle and Jane turned, getting up and brushing her skirt done. “All right, the water is all heated up. Do you prefer Black or Earl tea?”

“Uh….Black please” I responded.

Jane nodded and went to the corner of the room. I sat upon the chair, looking towards the medicine and gauze and decided to patch myself up. The alcohol definitely stung against the cuts but at least they weren’t going to get infected any time soon. I rolled the gauze around my arm, cutting it off once I covered what I needed and tucked in the extra. I secured it and sighed gently, turning my wrist around. Well at least that took care of the cuts.

I rubbed my temple, exhaling lightly. I wonder where the others went. I know Donald and Goofy couldn’t be that far off. Sora should be all right with Tarzan by his side. We should be back together soon enough. Though I hope Sora and Donald can get over there problems.

“Oh, I forgotten to ask for your name, miss” Jane came over with a mug and I gratefully took it.

“My name is Michelle,”

“I’m Jane Porter, pleasure to meet you Michelle” She responded, smiling curtly. She returned to her seat and blew gently at her drink.

“Jane” I perked my head up as did Jane, standing up and turning towards the front of the tent. I slouched back slightly, taking a small sip of the tea. All right, keep your cool. Do not blow up on the boy.

“Tarzan. Oh, and who is this?” Jane asked, kneeling slightly. I slowly began to rise from the chair, peeking over to see Sora and Tarzan were in the room. I kept a locked stare towards the boy.

“Uh hi there, I’m—” Yup, there’s Sora.

“SORA!” I shouted, bolting from the chair. The last moment I saw the kid I saw him falling out of the sky. Jeezes. This freaking kid. Sora smiled, entering as reached for a hug. Instead, his face met with a pillow.

“YOU CRAZY—UGH—YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK BACK THERE!” I retorted angrily, shaking him violently once he had pushed the pillow away. “You idiot! You could’ve killed yourself” I scowled loudly, finally releasing him and placing my hands on my hips.

“Oh, so this is somebody from your team, Michelle?” Jane asked, tilting her head to further examine Sora. “Really…you are all rather young…”

“Uhh….” Sora murmured as Jane tilted her head, narrowing her eyes.

“Are you sure you’re not here to study the gorillas?”

“Highly doubtful”

A man entered following him was Donald and Goofy. I frowned, immediately paying attention to the gun in his hands. I didn’t like Clayton, never did and probably never will. That gun…it gave me chills though. Goofy jumped and smiled widely.

“Sora! Michelle!” Goofy yelled. “Donald! Goofy!” We yelled back. Donald and Sora grabbed hands for one moment but before long, I noticed they glared at each other, immediately letting go and crossed their arms, facing opposite directions. I frowned and sighed loudly. “Oh no, not again” I murmured.

“A circus of clowns. Now much use for hunting gorillas” Clayton thought out loud while leaving the tent.

Jane frowned and put her hands on her hips.

“Mr. Clayton, we’re studying them, not hunting them. This is research” She said loudly. With no reply she sighed inwardly before turning around with a smile on her face. “Well, the more the merrier” She said. “Do make yourselves at home” She added to us. Sora and Donald kept on looking the opposite ways.

“Well anyways,” I began, trying to start a new conversation.

“I’m staying!” Both Sora and Donald growled loudly. I stared blankly while both Sora and Donald shot a glance to each other. “Huh?” Sora asked. CUE GOOFY FOR EXPLANATION!

“Look what we found. Look at this.” Goofy opened up his hands and showed us a red piece of Gummi ship material. I moved to Goofy’s side and took the small piece out of his hand. It felt…strange. It held this sort of rubbery feeling but it was strangely sturdy. What the heck.

“What’s that?” I asked while giving it back to Goofy. “A Gummi block. It’s the same stuff used to build our ship” Goofy explained. I hummed, tilting my head. That’s…not what I expected.

“So that means…” Sora began, darting his eyes to Donald, a smug look written across his face. Donald glared from the corner of his eye, huffing and crossing his arms.

“The king could be here. So we’ve gotta work together to look for him. For now!” Donald retorted in annoyance. Sora rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as well. “Fine. I’ll let you tag along” Sora replied in a snarky manner. “For now!”

I rubbed my head, groaning slightly. “How long do you think this will last?” I asked, turning to see Goofy shrugging.

“All they need is to get apologizin’ and it’ll be all fixed in no time!” He responded. I quirked my lips, looking towards the two seeing they weren’t meeting each other’s gazes again, Sora avoiding Donald completely as he spoke to Jane. I sighed, rubbing my temple.

Now that the team was back together, or as together as it seemed to be at the moment, we were settling into the tent. Sora seemed interested about asking Jane about Tarzan, mentioning that he was looking for Riku and Kairi and that Tarzan had said they were here. I was half paying attention, sitting on the chair as I was fiddling with the gummi block. It was so bizarre, how could something like this make the Gummi Ships?

“So he was speaking ‘gorilla’ back there...” Sora murmured.

“Ah that’s right. You’re looking for your friends?”

“He said Riku and Kairi are here. And one word I couldn’t understand….” Sora recalled. Jane hummed, turning and headed towards the projector.

“Why don’t we try this? We’ll show Tarzan some slides and see if any of them match the word” She exclaimed, gesturing her hand towards the projector. “It’s worth a try” I butted in, looking up and nodding to Sora. “What do you got to lose?”

She smiled and looked in a small box under the projector only to frown. “Oh, what happened to the slides?” She looked around the room but came back empty handed.

“I must have misplaced them outside. Can you please look for them?” She asked.

“I’ll look!” Sora declared quickly. He gave a quick glance to Donald before going outside followed by Tarzan and Goofy. “I’m guessing he’s still mad…” I sighed loudly and looked back to Donald. He seemed to have calmed down but still had that annoyed look. Soon they returned and Sora gave them to a thankful Jane.

“All right, let’s see if this works” She turned the projector on and placed the first slide in. The first slide was of a castle. Sora was looking at this castle very carefully, catching Jane’s eye. “Is something wrong Sora?” Jane asked. Sora shook his head and smiled.

“Oh it’s nothing” the next slide had a man with flowers. I rolled my eyes and leaned against my arm. Third was a man holding a little child? Okay……Fourth was a gorilla. Not surprising. Fifth was a boat. Random.

Sixth were two men fencing each other, I snickered quietly to myself. It reminded me of when my teacher told us he fenced and beat everyone who tried. True story.

“I like this one” I thought with a quiet giggle. Jane turned the projector off and turned to face Tarzan. “Well, Tarzan?” Jane asked. “Where are my friends, Riku and Kairi?” Sora asked as Tarzan turned his head towards him. He shook his head. Puzzled, Sora turned fully to Tarzan and narrowed his eyes.

“Hey, I thought—”

“Than that leaves just one place.” A voice boomed from outside.

I growled silently and turned seeing Clayton entering the tent.

“Young man, we’ve been in this jungle for sometime now. But we have yet to encounter these friends of yours. I’d wager they’re with the gorillas. But Tarzan refuses to take us to them.” Clayton explained. Jane frowned, crossing her arms.

“Really, Mr. Clayton. Tarzan wouldn’t hide—” Clayton interrupted, stepping towards Tarzan.

“Then take us there! Take us to the gorillas. Go-ril-las.” He exclaimed. Tarzan turned his head to look at Sora who really was hoping Riku and Kairi were here. Tarzan nodded. Jane got a shock expression and asked “Tarzan? Are you sure?”

“Tarzan, go see Kerchak” Tarzan said. I gazed over to him, surprised to hear him talk.

“Kerchak?” Jane questioned putting her hand on her chin. Clayton smiled, stroking his chin. “He must be the leader. Perfect. I’ll go along as an escort. After all, the jungle is a dangerous place” I quirked my lips, raising a brow as he turned, leaving the tent. That doesn’t sound like a good suggestion at all. I was silently shaking my head.

“Do we really have to let him come?” I asked, crossing my arms behind my neck. “I guess so…” Tarzan walked out the tent catching our attentions. “He-Hey!” Sora jumped off to a run to catch up with Tarzan.

“Let’s hurry before we lose the two and get lost in the jungle!” I glanced over to Donald who began walking away. “Or else we’d have to go with Clayton…” Donald stopped automatically.

“Okay let’s go!” Donald retorted, about-facing and running after me and Goofy. Leaving the campsite, we entered the jungle. Ever seen an actual rainforest? It’s amazing, hot, but amazing…

“Okay, I think we’re lost” Donald muttered. “Hey guys!” Sora ran over to us. “Tarzan went on ahead but he kind of went through all that…” Sora pointed off to his right and we all looked.

Water was going to be our problem. I twitched and muttered “It looks like a freaking obstacle course”

“So all we have to do is cross this right?” Goofy questioned. “Yup! So….” I took a few steps back and jumped across the water, nearly falling backwards unless for grabbing a tree branch. “Phew…”

They easily followed and we reached only one difficultly. The last hippo. I jumped over to the hippo, almost loosing balance when it moved.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I cried out and leaped off it. With a swift landing, I made it to land. “So Tarzan went up this?” I asked Sora who was staring at the hippo. “Yup” Goofy jumped next but he did a better job then I did.

“Well?” I asked the two that remained, giving each other a quick look then to the hippo. Sora took a few steps back and leaped to the hippo when it went underwater. “ARE YOU KIDDING!?” Was all I heard from him before he fell into the water.

He fell into the water while Donald started laughing at him. Sora glared at him. “Now it’s YOUR turn!” I yelled. Donald rolled up his sleeves and took a few steps back.

“WAHHH!” He jumped to the hippo and missed…..very badly. Like he didn’t even land where the hippo was! Sora started snickering while getting out the water. Donald glared at him and came out the water.

“Knock it off you two and get over here now!” I yelled at them. This time they both succeeded quickly. We all stared up at the vine. “Who’s going first?” Donald asked. ‘Sora, he’s probably faster” I suggested.

With that Sora jumped up the vine and began climbing. I watched while Donald and Goofy jumped up the vine next. I grabbed the vine and sighed angrily. I hated climbing the ropes, I can’t do it. I gulped and took a few breaths. I jumped up and caught grip of the vine. “Going up!” I said trying to hide the strain in my voice.

I continued climbing till we reached super high. I slightly looked down but then Donald yelled “DON’T LOOK DOWN!”

Too late. I sadly had.

OH MY GOD! WE WERE HIGH! I looked right back up and began climbing even faster. Oh hell no, I’m not going to fall! I then saw a hand was in front of me. I grabbed it and I got pulled up. “Thanks Goofy” “Hey look, there’s Tarzan” I looked up and saw Tarzan, on another branch away from us. Two gorillas were in front of him, sitting on a different branch. ‘Kerchak and Kala….’

Tarzan began saying something but I didn’t understand what the heck he just said. I raised a brow and turned to Sora.

“Is he speaking gorilla?” I whispered to Sora. “I guess so. That’s what he was talking to me before” he responded back. The brown gorilla looked to the black, larger one that looked very stern. “Did you get that?” Goofy asked Donald. “No!” Donald said simply.

I watched, seeing Kerchak looking off to the right before looking back at Tarzan. “Kerchak.” He closed his eyes then turned his head and started walking off. “Kerchak...” Tarzan muttered loudly. Kala looked at Tarzan but soon followed Kerchak. I crossed my arms and tapped my foot. “Hey guys. Was it just me or did he seemed distracted?” I asked.

“Who? That big gorilla?” Sora questioned. I nodded. “Yeah, he looked off somewhere, like something was wrong,” I explained. Tarzan jumped over to us, nodding in agreement. “Kerchak was looking at the tree house,” He informed us. Sora looked over to where he was looking at. “Then let’s go, something might be up” Sora decided. With Tarzan leading the way, we quickly ran through the jungle.


	8. Jungle Rumble

Skipping through the thick terrain of the jungle was not as easy as the game had originally made it out to be. They kind of forgot to mention the lack of snakes that seemed to look like vines. Donald already gave me a heartattack when he grabbed hold of one of those by mistake. Needless to say, it was a good thing Tarzan quickly pulled him back before the snake can munch on him. Beside that though, Tarzan was extremely focused to head towards the Tree house and I couldn’t blame him.

We kept as close behind as possible before finally getting out of the thick jungle and there was the large tree house. I skidded to a stop, resting my hand over my eyes, narrowing them gently. “Clayton’s here!” I regarded catching Tarzan’s attention.

“C’mon then!” Donald cried out, skittering ahead up the wooden pathway with the three of us following after. Running around the corner, I already could see Donald in a determined sprint as I barely saw that Clayton stood poised, aiming with his rifle intently as his finger was ready to tug back the trigger.

“Wahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!”

I ran around the corner fully seeing Donald jumping mildly in the air, Clayton jerk his gun up and fired randomly. The sound of something shattering inside erupted and the panicked steps followed immediately beside it. Sora and I reached beside Clayton, peering inside to see pieces of the globe had shattered onto the ground while a gorilla climbed the old crates and onto the railing above. I exhaled in relief, resting a hand over my chest.

‘That was close, good thing Terk is fast,’ I smiled at the thought before frowning, turning to glare at Clayton as Donald, Sora, and Goofy surrounded the man who had fallen to the ground, his eyes wide in disbelief. Tarzan passed by the group and looked up towards the railing, finding Kerchak was present, gazing down upon the situation. He snorted and turned.

“Wait, Kerchak. Please!” Tarzan stood up, his teeth gritting. Kerchak paused momentarily but did not turn and continued to move on. Terk however looked over past the railing, seemingly meeting Donald’s gaze before she too turned and left the spot. Donald frowned then turned to Clayton.

“What’s the big idea!?” Donald demanded.

“You don’t understand. I was only trying to—ah. A snake slithered by, you see. I saved the poor gorilla’s life.” He made up, showing of where the supposed snake was at. I frowned, crossing my arms against my chest. “Sure. Let’s see what Jane has to say for all of this” I proposed.

“That evil little liar! Trying to hurt an innocent gorilla” I said quietly for only Sora, Donald, and Goofy to hear. “Yeah. Something’s fishy is about this guy” Sora said. I glanced back to Clayton before facing straight again.

“You got that right” We all made it back to the tent and told Jane the whole story.

Clayton TRIED to change the story and make it seem like it wasn’t THAT bad of a deal. When we finished the explanation the look on her face was terrifying. “How could you do such a thing?!” Jane yelled at Clayton.

“Now, Miss. Potter, as I told you, I was not aiming at the gorilla—” He began but Jane stopped him.

“You are not to go near the gorillas again!” His eyes widen and he clenched his fist slightly before relaxing. “All because of one mishap? Come now…..” He then stopped when he saw all of us glaring at him.

Sora had his arms crossed while I had mine rested firmly on my hips, mirroring Jane’s action. Donald and Goofy arms were crossed as well as Tarzan kept a firm gaze at the older man. If Clayton didn’t catch the signal then I don’t know what would. Clayton laughed nervously backing away slowly. He turned around and left the tent. Jane sighed in annoyance and started counting numbers.

“I wonder where he’ll go next…” Donald muttered. Suddenly a loud bang shot rang through the entire area and made me jump. I wasn’t one to like loud noises. “What the heck?”

“Clayton?!” Sora sprinted out of the tent followed by the rest of us. Unexpected, there was no sight of Clayton, only heartless that were prowling the area.

“Heartless!?” Sora gasped.

“What are they doing here!?” I demanded. My eyes darted around when I noticed a gorilla leaping on top of the crates to avoid being slashed by one of the heartless. I gasped, shaking Sora’s arm and pointed towards the gorilla.

“I don’t know but let’s take care of them and save that gorilla!”

With that we all took our weapons out, catching the monkey like heartless’s attention. They averted there attention from the defenseless gorilla and leaped towards us. Donald shot several fire spells getting rid of two as Goofy threw his shield at one. Tarzan swung his spear powerfully, knocking three up into the air and I simply followed, smacking all three down to the ground, annihilating them. Sora slashed efficiently at the reminder heartless and destroyed it.

I sighed in relief, wiping my forehead as Tarzan went forward towards the crate and began to speak to the gorilla. The gorilla cautiously settled down and began to respond back to him as Sora and I shared glances. “Does anyone understand what he’s saying?” I asked.

“Didn’t we elaborate about this before?” Sora reminded. Donald grumbled, crossing his arms. “No, we still don’t understand gorilla!”

Tarzan finished talking, simply pointing towards a direction and the gorilla nodded, taking off hastily out of the area and hopefully to a safe area. Tarzan turned to us, a grim expression lingering on his face. “She said she had been chased and separated from the others” Tarzan explained as I hummed lowly.

“Then I wonder if all the gorillas are in trouble? Maybe she wasn’t the only one…” I exclaimed, rubbing my neck.

“We should check it out” Sora said.

I nodded in agreement as I followed behind the four to begin our mission to find the other gorillas that could be in danger. Journeying through the jungle was a bit of a problem. There was a lot of heartless and they were all up to some mischievousness. We seemed to save many gorillas and as Tarzan translated, it seemed they all said the same thing. I frowned as we returned back to the campgrounds to check a section right of the campgrounds. I knew Clayton was up to something.

‘How did he get all the heartless to join him though…?’ I sighed inwardly only to jump when I heard a gun shot. The five of us stopped, gazing to one another.

“Do you think it’s Clayton?” Goofy asked. I grumbled, nodding. “He’s the only one here that owns a gun!” I pointed out. “Only one way to find out” Sora deemed before running towards the thicket with Tarzan following closely behind. Donald tapped his foot on the ground and muttered, “Does he ever think things through?”

I sighed softly, rubbing the back of my neck before the three of us chased after the others. We ended up entering a clearing within the thick bamboo and stopped, taking a moment to examine around. It seemed like this might’ve been the spot where Clayton fired a round.

“No one’s here” I pointed out. Tarzan took a step forward, sniffing the air as his eyes narrowed.

“No, something is” Tarzan countered. I raised a brow, looking to Tarzan and saw that he was facing the forest, his eyes narrowing. I blinked slowly, turning to look at the direction he was. There didn’t seem to be much. I don’t know what he might’ve….oh no.

“Hey isn’t this Clayton’s pipe?” Donald asked, picking up a black smoke pipe on a rock. Sora went to his side, nodding in agreement. “Looks like he was here after all” Sora admitted, rubbing his chin.

“Guys—” I began. Sora turned his head when suddenly something snapped causing everyone to look in there direction.

“You heard that, right!?” Sora questioned

“Yeah!” Donald gulped.

I stepped closer to Goofy, finding him pulling up his shield as Tarzan crouched up, swinging his spear. “Sora, Donald, get back, please, I have a bad feeling about this.” I gulped, clutching onto Goofy’s arm as a shiver trailed up my spine. Something cracked again and within the thicket, I could see something—something was moving.

“Well, if it wants a fight, it can have—” Donald was mid-sentence when a leopard pounced out of the thicket, claws extended out to catch its prey. Donald yelped loudly, running in place before he sprinted back and Sora running quickly behind, avoiding the leopards pounce.

“Sabor!” Tarzan growled, holding his spear firmly. Sabor snarled, it’s tail flicking back and forth as it crouched forward, ready for a fight. I threw my hand out, the familiar blade materializing into my hand as we all took a battle position. The leopard roared, displaying it’s fierce fangs before leaping back into the thicket.

“Huh?” My eyes scanned the whole thicket, trying to see where the leopard could’ve gone. “Where did it go?” Sora demanded as we all formed a huddle group, keeping our backs to each other. There was no way we were going to get blinded sided by this thing.

“Sora move it!” I ordered and held my keyblade up. Right then the leopard jumped out the thicket and Sora leaped back, slashing the wild cat. He managed a hit as the beast growled and Donald jumped forward, waving his wand.

“Fire!” The flame hit the leopard and it hissed in anger. I grinned but it slowly disappeared when it jumped back into the thicket once again. “Where could’ve it gone now!?” Donald asked now right behind me. I was seriously nervous. I didn’t like this situation, not being able to know when your enemy will strike. I shut my eyes closed and breathed in and out.

_Stay calm, focus_

What?

I blinked once, darting my eyes around to focus on that strange voice. Again?

_Focus and you’ll find what you’re looking for. Believe._

I exhaled slowly and steadily, shutting my eyes and allowed myself to immerse in silence. The heavy breathing of those beside me, the exotic animals mixed calling to another, and the gently brushing of the bamboos brushing against each other. Listen….focus on those around you. Concentrate. I clenched my eyes when I heard something snap gently.

I spun towards the direction, whirling my keyblade out. Sabor leaped out of the bamboo, slashing at Goofy’s raised up shield. It was almost instinct as I whipped my arm back and vigorously threw the keyblade forward. It began spinning and my eyes widen in disbelief at the sight when my keyblade smashed right into the leopard. Sabor fell to the ground only to steadily get back on its feet, snarling towards my direction. I blinked a few times, my keyblade whirling back and I barely managed to catch it.

That move….did I use Strike Raid??

“Whoa…”

“Michelle, watch out!” I looked up and saw the leopard charge right at me and I gasped loudly, hurling my keyblade forward quickly to slash the beast back. Sabor bashed me off my feet, hurling me into the ground and my only defense from getting my face ripped off was the keyblade.

‘HOLY SHIT!’ Its jaws were literally lashing out on the blade while I tried keeping it from NOT EATING ME!

My muscles strained as I forced the beast back, shrinking my head as close to the ground as I could get. This was not my day. I growled loudly when Tarzan yelled loudly, striking the leopard away. It skidded across the ground, growling loudly before darting into the thicket again.

“Thanks Tarzan” I responded gratefully. Tarzan nodded when we both focused our attention towards Sabor once she reemerged from the thicket.

“THUNDER!” Donald yelled, hitting Sabor directly.

She twitched, being nearly paralyzed and Goofy took the opportunity to throw his shield. Sabor shook its body wildly when the shield hit the upside of its neck and then hit the back of its head in the returning swing. It slowly swung side to side before finally falling to the ground. Wait….did that do it?

I clenched my chest, feeling it pound underneath my fist as I breathed deeply out of my nose. I hadn’t realized how close to death I was. That leopard really was close. I held my arms closely, shivering at the sight. I hummed when suddenly I felt something dripping along my fingers. I glanced down to see a trail of red running down my wrist, droplets falling onto the ground.

“Great,” I growled.

“You’re bleeding” We pointed out in unison. Sora touched his cheek and winched lightly at the touch. I quirked my lips gently and reached into my pocket, feeling for the roll of gauze I had kept in my pocket. I’m surprised it hadn’t fallen out at this point. I quickly rolled the gauze around my wrist, pulling tightly and ripped the material with my teeth. Once I made it was tight and secured I clipped it together then tossed the roll and I explained and tossed him the pack. I slowly then looked back to the unmoving Sabor.

“Is it….?”

“Yeah…” Sora answered. I swallowed roughly, turning away from the sight. Death, I never liked it, nor had I seen it in person. We’re surrounded by it in life, but to cause death…I shuddered at the thought.

Tarzan looked to where the camp ground was. He turned to us and said “Jane trouble”

“In the camp!? Then let’s go!” Sora decided. We ran back to camp, having not to deal with the heartless made it all the better. We safely reached the tent only to find it empty.

“Hey, where’s Jane?” Sora asked searching the tent. It seemed normal but I could tell something happened, like the lamp in the room broke and the projector’s cards were all over the floor. “What’s wrong Tarzan?” Goofy asked. Tarzan was looking around the entire tent before looking back at us. “Something’s coming.” He said. “What?”

“Jane in danger. Jane near—near tree house” Tarzan finished. Donald tapped his arm and said “Sounds like trouble. Let’s go!”

We all headed out the camp and headed towards the jungle. We climbed the vines till we reached the climbing trees.

“Tarzan” Jane’s yelled. “Where is she!?” Donald asked. I looked towards the only place she could’ve been. The small cave in forest. And that’s where Tarzan was. “Jane” Jane appeared out of the cave and sighed in relief. “Jane! Are you alright!” Sora asked running beside Tarzan. “Yes, I’m fine” She assured us.

Suddenly the same gorilla Clayton tried to shoot appeared beside Jane and began talking with Tarzan in the gorilla language. “If only I knew what they were saying” Donald murmured to Goofy.

“Jane what happened?” I asked her. “Clayton came to the tent, and—” She tapped her temple and looked down the floor. “That’s the last thing I remember!” She finished. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help…” “Clayton?” Sora repeated. Jane nodded. “Gorillas trapped. Terk ran.” Tarzan explained and Terk nodded. “We must help the gorillas!” Jane insisted her fist to her chest and a determined look on her face.

“I have a feeling we were close in the Bamboo thicket” I said looking off to where I thought it was. “Let’s go back there and check it out” Sora said. I nodded.

“What’s the quickest way though?” I asked. Tarzan looked into the cave and looked back to us.

“I know a way” He said. He rushed in and I gave a curiously look to Sora. “Let’s hurry!” Sora decided and ran into the darkness of the cave. I followed with Donald behind me and Goofy right after that. Tarzan led us to the top of a hollowed tree. I peered down it and whistled.

“Is there a bottom to this?” I joked nervously taking a step back. “Is this it?” Sora questioned Tarzan. Tarzan nodded. Sora gulped and looked back down. “Save gorillas, Tarzan catch up soon” I looked to Donald and Goofy who had doubt written all over there faces. There was no WAY in heck I was going down there. “All right on three!” Sora decided grabbing Donald’s and my wrist.

“NOW WAIT A MINUTE!” I shouted and grabbed Goofy while Sora counted “One, two—” And before I knew it we all jumped into the darkness of the tree. “YOU DIDN’T EVEN SAY THREE!” I screamed trying to see if there was a bottom to this.

That’s when I felt my feet began to skid and I slowly closed my eyes.

_Shouldn’t your eyes be open?_

I slowly opened them up and the bright light of day was back. But here’s one thing I didn’t like. We were on a slippery tree and sliding our way to save the gorillas. I felt so unbalanced but yet at the same time it was like I knew what I was doing. I was going to trust on that for a little longer.

“Just you wait Clayton, because we’re coming to stop you” I declared with a smug smile on my face.

You wanna know what was the only thing that was going through my head at the time? THIS WAS A FREAKING FINAL FANTASY X MOMENT! I was grinning wildly as I jumped from tree to tree. This was so cool! “I can’t believe I’m doing something like this!” I shouted to Sora who was leaning to try to pick up speed.

“Yeah! Hey, have you seen Donald or Goofy!?” He asked loudly while looking back. I look to my left, right, up, and behind but no sign of the two. “Nope! Where are they!?”

That’s when I heard two cries and I jumped when I heard a crash. I don’t want to look, I don’t want to look. Three cries mixed with furious yells forced me to turn my head seeing Donald and Goofy were back. But Goofy was sliding on top of his shield, Sora was holding on to the back of his collar while Donald was stepping all over Sora’s face.

I sweatdropped and faced forward only to yelp loudly. “WHOA!” I ducked and steadily got back to position. I turned over to where Sora, Donald, and Goofy once were and murmured “The heck did they went!?”

Que three boyish screams.

“AHHH!!!”

“OH MY GOD!” They nearly crashed into me but I skidded to a stop only for Donald to grab the back of my jacket. Now I’m being dragged. “OKAY! THIS IS NOT COMFORTABLE!” I growled feeling my jacket beginning to strangle me.

“WHEN IS THIS GOING TO END!?” Sora cried. That’s when a felt nothing beneath my feet. “Huh?” I looked down and saw we were like 10 feet off the ground. Falling.

“OUF!” Stars were floating around my head while I tried to figure out where we landed.

“My aching head,” I sat up and looked around. We had landed in the Bamboo Thicket luckily. “Sora, Donald, Goofy, you guys okay?” I questioned while trying to get up. Donald’s head was buried in the ground and Goofy was trying to pull him out. Sora sat up and groaned. “Not going to do that again” I confirmed looking up towards the sky. Sora stood up and looked around before saying “We’re back in the Bamboo Thicket’s”

“But where’s—”

“Hey Tarzan!” I sweat dropped and turned towards an opening in the thicket. Okay, now Tarzan’s back and Donald is now sad that no one listens to him anymore. I looked around and sighed. Hopefully this is going to be our little time to rest and get ready for the battle ahead.

“Clayton’s near” Tarzan said. I gave a questionable look till a gunshot rang through the forest.

“What was that?” Donald asked, not paying to anything till now. “That sounded like Clayton’s gun” I looked towards the only area of the thicket we hadn’t went through and said “It came from over there!”

“Let’s go!” With Sora and Tarzan leading, we raced through the thicket, following the sound of gun fire. I knew this was bad, not for the reason that I played this game and I know what’s going to happen, it’s just this gut feeling I have.

Sora was getting ahead and suddenly I heard him yell “NO!” By the time we reached him, we saw Clayton there, his rifle in his hand and a group of gorillias near by. I gasped and looked at Clayton.

“Clayton?” Sora said bewildered. Tarzan glared at Clayton as Clayton looked over to our group. ”Not Clayton!” Tarzan yelled.

“*&&X%! Not Clayton!” I could kind of tell Clayton wasn’t himself, especially when he held the gun towards us. Also, the angry look on his face when he noticed the gorillas had managed to get away. He yelled in anger and suddenly pointed the gun at us.

“Duck!” We all scattered when Clayton shot where we once were standing and the heartless appeared. “The Heartless is on his side!?” Goofy gasped and held his shield up to block one of attacks. I held my hand out and my keyblade appeared into my hand and I knocked the heartless off Goofy’s shield before looking back at Clayton who was reloading his rifle. “He’s just full of surprises!!” I groaned in annoyance.

The heartless came at us. I swung my keyblade and destroyed two of them. “He’s gonna shoot!” Goofy yelled. I looked and he was pointing the gun at me. I rolled out the way as he shot, hitting where I was. “Too close!” I yelled as I got up and destroyed another heartless. Everyone ganged up on Clayton as he pointed his gun at us again.

“Give up Clayton!” Sora yelled at him as he held his keyblade close to him. Clayton glared at us till he started—? Smirking? “What is he up to?” I murmured.

Slowly he lowered his gun down and stood closely to the rock wall behind him. Suddenly the wall behind him blew up, rocks, boulders, and pebbles flying ever where. “Whoa!” I jumped to avoid being hit by one of the flying debris. Nothing was left of the wall and Clayton stood there, unharmed. Tarzan suddenly charged at Clayton when he was knocked right back to us.

“What the!?” We jumped and turned seeing Clayton grinning evilly as he was lifted into the air and appeared to be sitting on something invisible. “Oh this is not good. Not at all good” I said as Clayton rode on the invisible creature. Whatever he was riding jumped to where we were and we all jumped out the way. “How can we fight something we can’t see!?” I asked when I ran around to reach Tarzan to make sure he was okay. “I don’t know—wait! Use magic!”

Me and Donald gave glances to each other and nodded.

“All right then! Sora, Goofy, Tarzan! Cover for us!” The others nodded and began attacking where Clayton was floating in mid-air. “Blizzard!” We both yelled and it hit the creature. It started to freeze at left an icy mark on it.

“All right, magic leaves a mark!” I cheered and high-fived Donald. He smiled only to jump and yell “Watch out” I turned and my eyes widen. Clayton was pointing his gun right at us and he had his finger on the trigger. “Oh god” I stammered and I couldn’t move. I was frozen in fear. “Fire!” A flame hit the creature causing it to shrill in agony and stood up, causing Clayton to fall, and missed me. I turned looking to Donald, but he didn’t do it. I then looked to Sora as he looked over to the both of us.

“Hey! Are you guys okay?” He asked concerningly. I stammered, still a little shocked but I nodded. “Thanks!”

The creature finally fell to the ground and revealed its true colors.

“A heartless?” Sora questioned.

It was a green colored chameleon heartless with a horn and yellow eyes. “Take the chance and attack it!” I twirled the keyblade in my hand and held it up. “Thunder!” Thunder strike the heartless as it twitched on the ground. It roared in pain and Sora and Tarzan began attacking it. Suddenly it roared and stood up on its hind legs while he’s eyes began glowing.

“That’s not normal” Suddenly a laser like attack came from its eyes and shot towards Goofy and Tarzan. “Whoa!” Goofy blocked with his shield while Tarzan jumped out of the way. “Its shots ‘lasers’ from its eyes” I cried bewilderedly. It’s weird seeing something shot lasers from its eyes! :D

Sora charged at it only to get hit by its tail, sending him over to where I was. “OUF!” Tarzan began handling the chameleon when I finally saw Clayton getting up and reaching for his gun.

“FIRE!” I yelled and the flame shot out from the tip of my blade and headed towards Clayton. He noticed and rolled out the way, and got his gun. The heartless knocked Tarzan away and crouched down low to the ground and Clayton jumped on it.

“You’re not going to defeat me!” Clayton yelled and pointed his gun towards Tarzan. Tarzan gritted his teeth and moved out the way before Clayton shot at him. I grunted and charged towards the heartless and began attacking it.

“Guys, take care of Clayton!” I smacked the heartless and jumped back yelling “Blizzard” The icy spell hit the face of the heartless, making it go blind in one eye temporarily.

Clayton held his gun up again at me and I smirked. He stared confusingly for a minute before he saw Tarzan tossing his spear which slightly hit against Clayton’s hand, making him drop his gun. Sora, Goofy, and I then smacked the stomach of the heartless. Clayton glared but his attention was then brought back to the heartless that got up, making Clayton fall to the ground. It then fell to the ground, seemingly knocked out.

“Blizzard!” Donald and I yelled, hitting it with the frozen attack. It began to stir again and I was focusing my attentions on it.

Clayton managed to get his gun back and pointed it towards Sora who was fighting with us but Tarzan kicked him from doing so.

“Watch out!” Donald quickly moved when a bullet nearly hit him. I looked over seeing Tarzan and Clayton fighting over the gun. ‘You okay Donald?” “Uh-huh” Donald quacked. Sora smiled and looked over to us. I smiled but it soon turned to a quiet look when I heard something stand tall behind us. “Don’t tell me, it got up” Donald gulped and nodded.

“RUN!!” But it smacked us with its arm before we got a chance. The eyes of the chameleon glowed and he started using wind attack to knock off Tarzan.

“Sora! Take care of Clayton!” I yelled. He nodded and ran off to stop Clayton from shooting us. I helped Tarzan up and he nodded. “Thanks” I smiled and looked back at the heartless. I then looked at my keyblade then back at the chameleon.

_Remember that move that saved you? Use it again._

I turned a little, but then focused back at the heartless. I held the keyblade tight in my hand then yelled “Take this!” I tossed the keyblade and it began spinning again and it smacked the heartless at the head. “Yes!” I cheered and the keyblade reappeared in my hand. Clayton was then knocked down by Sora and we all came together.

“It’s over Clayton,” Sora said. Clayton walked backwards, holding his side as he glared at us. “I won’t be defeated by the likes of you!” He yelled at us and raised his gun right at us.

My eyes widen but soon they widen even more when the heartless moved above Clayton. Clayton looked up and yelled only to be crushed under the heartless. A giant pink heart left the heartless; disappearing into the air and the heartless disappeared, along with Clayton. I gulped and looked to where Clayton once was. “He’s gone…” Sora murmured. I nodded and patted his shoulder. “Yeah, we’re safe”

The gorillas came back along with Kerchak and Kala. Kerchak walked from the group and came to us. He looked over to Tarzan who nodded. Kerchak then placed his hand on Sora’s shoulder then—!? “WHAAAAA!” My jaw hanged a little as Sora yelled while being thrown over the ledge.

“No-No-WAIT!” Next it was Donald and before I knew it I was being tossed up into the air.

“WHAT THE HECK!” I hit the ground and groaned feeling my back hurt. Somewhat dumb, I fought like 3 giant creatures that wanted to kill us but yet I haven’t been hurt very badly but when I hit the ground, it seems like I lose my breath. “Ouch” I croaked and sat up.

I then gasped in delight and jumped to a stand. “Wow it’s beautiful!” I said looking at the giant waterfall.

The loud noise of the waterfall somehow made everything feel very….peaceful. Suddenly Goofy landed beside Donald, making him jump and making me lose concentration.

“Hey, where’s Tarzan?” Sora asked. Goofy rubbed his head and picked up his hat from the ground. “Oh! He said he was gonna get Jane and Terk! He also said to held up to the waterfall” Goofy answered.

I looked at Goofy then went to the edge of the ledge to look back at the gorillas. I caught Kala’s eye and she seemed to smile at me, making me smile.

“Hey Michelle” I turned and saw Sora looking over at me with excitement. “C’mon! Let’s go! Donald and Goofy went ahead!” He rushed and waited near the entrance of the waterfall. I looked back seeing the group of gorillas nearly gone and then ran over to Sora.

“So why not go by yourself!?” “Because you’re not that fast!” That’s when I punched Sora on the shoulder as he began laughing. “That’s mean!” But the sad truth. We entered a passage till we reached…….the waterfall cavern.

“Whoa” I stared up and my jaw hanged. We were right behind the waterfall. It was so…so…amazing. It was pretty loud though. “So you think Kairi and Riku are somewhere here?” I asked while we walked across the rock path to the hidden waterfall cave. “Yeah! That’s what Tarzan said when he first saved me” Sora answered.

I smiled but then it turned into a questionable thought. “Wait…did you even think about us?!?!” Sora stopped and held a guilty/embarrassed look on his face.

“Sora…..”

“Sorry! I was still mad at Donald and well I guess—” I sighed and shook my head. “Sora, you really have to learn to live and forget!” I exclaimed while I began walking. “Wait. What?” He jogged to catch up to me as I looked up the rock wall.

“Well, you seem pretty fine for losing your island and friends now don’t you?” I climbed up the wall and held a hand for Sora. “I guess…but what does that have to do with anything?” He demanded. I laid on the rock and rolled my eyes.

“You’re getting use to this! You keep moving you’re determined to find Kairi and Riku so you go to all these different worlds and to go back to your island! Right…?”

Sora looked down to the ground before looking back up and grabbing my hand. I managed to pull him up and smile.

“So, if you can keep moving, then why can’t you apologize to Donald and get it over with! I mean, you’re going to be stuck with us… _for a heck of a while”_ I exclaimed saying the last part of the sentence silently.

Sora sighed and then looked to the waterfall. “I guess,”

“Good! Now c’mon! If you haven’t noticed, I’m actually ahead of you!” I cheered in total victory. Ha! While he was off daydreaming I began climbing! Good luck catching up!

“H-HEY! Wait up!”

We climbed vines and rocks to get all the way to the top of the waterfall. There was yet again another passage inside. A tree was inside with blue glowing like butterflies. Tarzan said something in gorilla again. “This is your home? But that means…” Tarzan stopped him and put his hand to his ear. It was totally silent; all you can hear was the waterfall and nature. “Huh?”

“The waterfalls…..They’re echoing all the way here” Jane said. Tarzan then again said something in gorilla again. “Friends there. See friends”

“Oh, now I’ve got it (whatever Tarzan said in gorilla) means heart.” Jane said. “Friends in our hearts…..” I said. “That’s right” Jane said.

“Heart”

“Oh so that’s what it meant” Sora said a little depressingly.

“Friends, same heart. Clayton, lose heart. No heart, no see friends. No heart, no friends.” Tarzan said.

“Sorry about what I said” Sora said. “I’m sorry too.” Donald apologized. “Aw!” I said. “Yeah. All for one, huh?” Goofy said putting his hands on there shoulders. The tree started to glow and the butterflies moved away, flying everywhere. A keyhole began to glow a bright blue.

“Time to lock it up” I pointed out. Sora took out his keyblade and pointed it towards the tree. A beam of light shot out from the keyblade to the keyhole. The keyhole lit up and left the tree, and a Gummi block came out.

“A Gummi” Donald said. Goofy picked it up and examined it. He sighed sadly and shook his head. “But it’s sure not the king’s” Goofy said. Donald sighed in defeat again, not having much luck. Terk pushed Donald a little making him look at her.

“I think someone has a new admirer.” Jane said. I started chuckling as Donald started panicking and saying “No, no, no, no! Daisy would kill me!” Everyone started laughing at the look on his face.

[Meanwhile]

“What drew the Heartless to that world?” A male’s voice asked.

“The hunter lured them there. It was his lust for power that was the bait. But it seems the bait was too tasty for his own good.” The evil witch said. Someone laughed, saying “Yeah, he got chomped instead!” Then someone stepped out the shadow, revealing himself.

“A weak-hearted fool like him stood no chance against the heartless. But the boy is a problem. He found one of the keyholes.” He said. “Fear not. It will take ages to find the rest” The witch said showing a holographic spell of the four walking back. “Besides, they remain blissfully unaware of our other plan”

“Yes, the princesses… They are falling into our hands one by one.” The dark figured turned as the others followed. Suddenly Alice was pushed in. “Speaking of which….”

[Back in Jungle]

“Well, guess we’d better get going” Sora said. “Where is your ship, anyway?” Jane asked curiously.

“Well, uh…Not too far.” Donald answered nervously. Sora and I glanced to each other, smiling nervously as we nodded in agreement.

“Sora, Tarzan, friends.” Tarzan said. Sora smiled and nodded. He looked over to me, Donald, and Goofy then said “Friends?”

“Yup! Friends!” I answered with a smile. We left the tent and went to find the Gummi ship. We soon found it, upside down somewhere in the bamboo forest.

“IT CRASHED!” I yelled looking at the gummi ship that was crashed into the ground. It looked like it was still in one piece though. That was probably the only ray of light in this situation. “No worries, its okay” Donald responded, climbing into the ship. Goofy nodded in agreement as he followed. “There’s an Auto Get-Out-of-the-Ground button just in case the ship crashes” Goofy called out.

I stared in disbelief as Sora walked into the ship as well. I groaned, slapping my forehead and followed after them into the ship. After at least half an hour, we had repaired the ship enough to fly back off into space with Goofy being in charge of flying.

“The Gummi block that came out of that glowing hole……It’s not like the others. Wonder what it’s used for.” Sora asked, tilting his head at the object.

“I dunno” Donald said.

“Hey why don’t we go back to Traverse Town?” I asked. “Maybe Leon’ll know.”

“Back to Traverse Town!” Donald concluded. Sora stood up as Donald seemed to go over to Goofy. “I wanna pilot!” Sora said.

“Hey, stop it!” Donald yelled. “Oh come on! I’m the keyblade master.” Sora said.

“You’re not the only one Sora!” I yelled at him. ”I don’t care who either of you are! No!”

“Here we go again” Goofy grimaced, slumping into his seat as the ship rockily sent back on course to Traverse Town.


	9. Sanctuary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am /so/ sorry. This took forever to come out and I completely apologize for everybody, if anybody who read this. Don't worry though, I have three chapters to give today! Yaaaay. (Have fun)

Another world was sealed up thanks to Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Michelle. We now journey back to Traverse Town to find out the mysterious properties that lay dormant within the Gummi Block to see if it can be a lead back to the King. I wonder why the King went to this world in the first place. Uh oh, looks like we’ve finally landed!–JC

*********************

“We’re here!”

The hatch opened with Donald and Sora being the first to exit the ship, still having a bit of a grudge against each other as Sora turned out to be the victor in this ridiculous war. Sora, beaming brightly, turned around and tilted his head.

“Uh….are you guys okay???” He called out.

Staggeringly exiting the ship, I could feel the blood drained out of my face and my legs trembled when I stepped out of the ship. Sora blinked a few times along with Donald as I fell on my knees.

“Uh…” Donald murmured with Sora walking over cautiously, patting my shoulder. “Michelle, are you okay?”

“SANCTUARY!” I cried loudly all the sudden causing the boys to leap back. “Sanctuaryyyyyyy!!!!!!!” I was ready to pick up Donald and pretend this was Hunchback of Notre Dame. My god, my body feels so weird right now. They fought for control of the ship for so long. At this point my body feels like one of those inflatable ballons in front of the car dealers. Goofy followed through the doors, his eyes swirling and he fell next to me. I guess I wasn’t the only one dying right now.

“Err….” Sora rubbed the back of his neck while I attempted to regain my sense of reality.

“I can’t believe we survived” I twitched and sat up.

I looked towards the door to see Sora and Donald; looking rather amused till I glared; scaring them immediately. I stood up, stomping towards the two and jabbed a finger to Sora’s chest repeatedly.

“Never, you guys will never fight again while driving the ship or so help me—” I couldn’t even finish the sentence as I exhaled aggressively, jabbing his chest again with my fist this time. “—just don’t do it again!”

Sora winched, patting my hand down and rubbed his chest gently, obviously taking in the point. I huffed gently, turning on my heel and looked away, pouting. Pssh, going off on crazy antics like that, I should’ve expected more but you know what I should’ve known better at this point. I gazed down to Goofy now and wondered if I should buy him a potion. He was going to need it after all of that.

“Hey! You’re back!”

I turned away from Sora and looked past the downed Goofy to find Yuffie was standing beside him, smiling cheerfully. I smiled back at the sight and took a step away from Sora, waving wildly. “Hey Yuffie!” I called out. Yuffie smiled, taking a step over Goofy and walked over to the three of us.

“Wow, you guys are still in one piece. How was traveling through different worlds?” She questioned. Sora smiled immediately.

“Amazing!” He answered and Yuffie smiled at that. “That’s great to hear, though I’m surprised you guys actually survived for two weeks out there!” She laughed nervously when Sora and I shared a look and turned to her.

“You didn’t think we had a chance out there?” Sora asked. Yuffie coughed, waving her hand. I darted my eyes to Sora as I felt the same thought was coming to mind. She probably made a bet with Cid… and now just lost that bet to Cid.

“Uhh never mind that,” She rested her hands on her hips, tilting her head slightly, “So what brings you back here?” She questioned. Sora snapped out of the questionable look he had and nodded.

“Oh yeah, any chance you know where Leon is?” Yuffie put her hand to her chin and began thinking, humming. “Well, the last time I remember seeing him he told me he was going to be in the Secret Waterway training,” Yuffie answered.

We all stared at Yuffie with questionable looks. At this point I was ready to hit my own head for not being able to recall where it was. Where the heck was the Secret Waterway at this point?! Everything is topsy-turvy and I don’t know where everything is anymore.

“It’s in the back alley, remember, there was bars on a wall and water was going through?” I hit my fist against my palm and nodded. Ooooooh, right! It’s behind the Dalmatian House!

“Got it! Thanks Yuffie!” Sora responded and she smiled. “I’ll see you later if anything, I have to go and meet with Cid about something. Catch you later!”

“Right, later Yuffie!” I waved and she turned, walking backwards and pointed to Sora. “Second District, remember that!” She called out and Sora replied loudly, “Right!” Before long, Yuffie was out of sight and I looked over to Sora as he turned to us with a grin. “So ready to head over to the 2nd district?”

[Later]

Surprisingly, no heartless had shown up as we walked through the Second District. I relaxed when we had gotten into the Dalmatians house, getting a tackle of kisses from the two Dalmatian. It seems like while we were on the road, Sora had actually found some of the lost pups and returned it to their parents. They were so happy, giving nudges and kisses to their puppies, that moment was so cute. I just wanted to hug every single one of them and just never let go.

Sora nearly had to drag me away when one of the pups began following us. With a quick close of the door, it was safe to assume that no more would come to distract me. After leaving the house with a new treasure, we exited into the street, looking around.

I gazed around, pressing the treasure to my chest while the boys went ahead, looking around. We’re suppose to look for a trinity mark, right? The gate to the Secret Waterway was currently blocked off sooo…

“Hey, what’s that?” Sora was standing in the ankle deep water and was looking at something. Donald and Goofy both went to his side and looked down at it. “What is it?” Donald asked.

Sora shrugged in response and I looked over, still on the street. I saw a red mark and I recognized it quickly. “A trinity mark” I mused and reached to try to poke at it without falling into the water. “What’s that?” Sora questioned and Donald turned to him.

“Trinity marks are something that needs a combine effort of teamwork to do” Donald explained. I touched it and a small bright light lit up. I blinked in response and shook my head. ‘What was that?”

“I don’t know, but I think I know what we have to do now” Sora turned and looked to the bared pathway.

“We have to knock it down!” Sora declared. Donald looked at him before looking at the bars. “Well, here goes nothing!” Donald took a few steps back before charging at full speed at the bars, ultimately hitting it and falling back. Sora did exactly what he did but with a stronger force and only for Goofy to hit the two against the metal bars causing a loud crack noise.

“Did it work?” I asked and went over to examine the metal bars. Several of the boards had fallen at this point and it was only left with one stubborn. They were loose, so I just took a step back and did a full force kick, knocking it down. “All right!” I cheered while the others were getting up.

“She had the easy job,” Donald murmured fixing his hat, spitting out some water. I peered into the dark waterway, only seeing the glimmering reflection of the outside lights.

“You think the waters deep?” Sora shrugged and began to venture on in first. I grimaced while he turned around, gesturing us to come after. That did not look safe…or I expected something to come and fish everyone out to death.

“Sora you sure about this?” Goofy asked.

“Yup! Yuffie said he’s in here so let’s go!” He replied happily. I smiled unsuringly, wondering if this boy would optimistically head into any location if anyone had told him to.

“Oh boy” Donald mumbled and was the first to enter into the water. Goofy and I shared glances but we followed in too. The water sent chills up my spine as I waddled my way through. Mainly because it kept getting higher, practically up to my waist. I grimaced, smelling a strong presence of mineral and earth within the water.

“I hope we’re not in the sewers” Donald retorted, swimming along the water. I sniffed the air, nothing horrible emitted from the water and it looked clear enough that it couldn’t possibly be.

“I don’t think so,” I sighed, hoping Sora was right about this. After going down the water way, I finally saw some kind of light and the sound of something swinging around.

“Hey! It’s Leon and Aerith!” I pointed out.

Leon paused at his training, sweat trailing down his arms and his face and he looked over to us. Aerith took to a stand, walking past him with a pleasant smile. It seemed they were both relieved to see we were all in one piece.

“EW! SOMETHING GOT IN MY MOUTH!” Donald cried, swatting at his bill. I sweatdropped and waved to Aerith. “Hey”

“You took the rather long way of getting here,” Aerith mused, giggling softly. Treading out of the water, I strode towards the fire that and sat upon a log, twisting the ends of my jacket. “This was the long way? Jeez…I’ll get Yuffie later for this.” I murmured and removed my jacket, fully twisting the entire jacket to remove water.

“Glad to see you’re all back in one piece, so what happened?” Leon questioned. “You wouldn’t believe it,” Sora sighed, rubbing his cheek as he sat down next to me. Thus he began explaining our journey so far with Aerith and Leon listening closely. I would make a comment here and there along with Donald and Goofy but Jiminy handled most of the stuff that Sora tended to forget to cover whenever Leon had a question.

“So, you found the keyhole” Leon remarked, rubbing his chin slowly. Sora nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah the keyblade locked it automatically,” Sora exclaimed. Leon hummed before sighing slightly in relief.

“That’s good to hear,” Aerith admitted.

“Huh?” Sora raised a brow towards Aerith who turned to Leon for further explanation.

“Every world has a keyhole. And each one leads to the heart of the world. There must be one in this town as well.” Leon explained.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked him, confused on why he had to mention Traverse Town as an example. Maybe it’s just the easiest way to say ‘Hey, you have a boss fight in this town so you can seal up the keyhole and keep moving,’

“It was in Ansem’s reports” Aerith put a finger to her chin and looked up, humming in thought. “The heartless enter through the Keyhole and do something to the world’s core”

“What do they do?” Sora questioned. Aerith’s expression grew sullen and she looked down, folding her hands in front of her. “In the end, it disappears” She answered. The sheer silence that swam in the air caused my heart to sink, especially looking between Aerith’s frown and Leon’s somewhat….removed look.

“WHAT!?” Leon nodded and looked to Sora sternly. “That’s why your key is so important”

My attention was brought back and I raised a brow, resting my arm on my raised knee.

“So wait, what does mine do? It’s doesn’t lock the worlds like Sora’s does,” I pointed out. Leon quirked his lips, his stormy eyes suddenly meeting mine. He seemed rather…puzzled by that revelation. He seriously remained silent for about five minutes while we all intently waited for an answer. Even Aerith darted her eyes to him, raising a brow. When another five minutes passed, she simply turned to me with a smile.

“Keyblades are all different, its possible Sora’s keyblade locks the keyholes and yours does something completely different,” She exclaimed and looked over to Sora. “Maybe yours is the same as Sora’s but it hasn’t act up yet,” Aerith patted my back as my shoulders slummed. “So in other words, i’ll have to find out on my own.”

“That’s all I can offer at the moment, yes,” Aerith reconfirmed. I frowned, having not completely been satisfied by that answer. It’s a KEY-blade, it should be able to lock things….shouldn’t it? I leaned back slightly, humming softly when Leon looked to Sora, coughing momentarily in his fist.

“Sora, please lock the keyholes, you’re the only one that can do it” Leon informed with a calm sense of urgency. Sora frowned, unsure and murmured, “I don’t know”

“Seeing other world would probably serve you well” Leon advised. “Yeah!” Donald agreed with a smile. I sighed gently, patting his back and nodded in agreement.

“We gotta find your friends” I added, nudging Sora and Goofy added, “And the King too!”

Sora smiled and crossed his arms behind his head. “Guess you’re right! Okay, we’ll keep going to different worlds!” Sora declared and I smiled to see his normal personality returning. “Not only we’ll find Riku, Kairi, and King Mickey, we’ll find…umm…Jazmine and Frances too!”

“You remembered?” I remarked in astonishment. Sora turned to me, smiling. “Well yeah, can’t forget something important like that” I stared at him before scoffing slightly, turning my head to the side. Jeezes, this boy is something. I couldn’t help but blush lightly and look further away.

Oh wait. I sat up properly, grabbing hold of the strange looking gummi block that Goofy handed over to me after our insane Gummi Ship ride. I raised it up towards Leon’s direction. “Hey Leon, this Gummi block’s different from the others. Do you know what it’s for?” Leon stood silent, thinking. Aerth giggled while I stared in disbelief at the man. When he doesn’t know answer, does he really stay quiet like this???

“Ask Cid, he should know” Aerith answered, receiving a glance from Leon saying ‘Hey, I was about to say that….’

“Thanks Aerith!” I thanked her and she smiled. “If you need a night to stay, you’re more than welcome here,”

“Thanks for the offer,” Sora chimed brightly. I stood by the water, grumbling and rubbing the back of my head. Wish there was a better way to get through this. “Great…back through this….” I groaned and began walking.

“Wait, Sora. Take this with you” Sora stopped following and Leon tossed him a shiny gem that gleamed an orange color. ““This stone holds some mysterious power. I’ve been carrying it for luck. I want you to hold onto it.” He told him. I looked over towards Sora’s direction to see him turn the crystal in all sorts of directions before looking to Leon. “How do you use it?” Sora asked.

Leon got a puzzled look and remained silent. I sighed, walking right out of the water and grabbed Sora’s arm, tugging him towards the water. “We’ll find out later, let’s go, chop chop”

[Later]

After swimming through the water to return to the Second District, we quickly made our way to the Accessory Shop. Cid was leaning against his counter, a cigarette butt dangling from the corner of his lip. His fingers drummed along the counter with a toothpick and when he noticed us, he discarded the cigarette and placed the toothpick in its place. I guess they were quick to put up censorship in the game but looks like the original Cid’s habits can’t be erased.

“Hey, looks like you guys made it back in one piece,” Cid remarked, smirking, “Glad to see you decided to keep up your word with visiting.”

“Of course, but Cid, we came here to ask you about this,” I told him causing the old man to lean over his counter. “What’ve you got there?” Sora showed him the mysterious gummi block. He squinted momentarily before smirking again. “Well, if it ain’t a Gummi block.” Cid regarded as Sora began tossing the block in his hand. “Yup”

“Any chance you know what this one is for?” Donald asked. Staring dumbfounded at us, Cid clenched his teeth and swooped the gummi block from Sora’s grasp.

“You’re kidding me! You’re flyin’ a Gummi ship and you don’t know nothin’ about navigation gummis?” Cid shouted at us. I blinked wildly, taking liberty of hiding behind Goofy as Cid continued his rampage though it was unable to handle the full rage he had. For nearly ten minutes he scolded us on everything possible about us being complete idiots and probably flying around in circles. Though that last one…is not a complete lie.

“Bunch of pinheads! Interspace ain’t no playground” Cid scorned, huffing loudly. Once his onslaught finally ended, I peered over Goofy’s shoulder, frowning.

“Hey! There’s a lot we don’t know. So what!” I countered. Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement as Sora pressed forward. “We have to use the Gummi ship to go to other worlds. We don’t have a choice” Sora added.

Cid waved his hand, sighing, “Whoa, easy. I didn’t know. No hard feelings, all right?” He put a hand to his chin muttering to himself before looking towards us, “Basically, with navigation gummis, you can go to new places. You want one on your ship, right?”

“Yeah, we’re going to new worlds is kind of what we want.” Sora answered and Cid nodded.

“I’ll install for you, it’ll at least take me a day, but you got to do me a favor and deliver something for me” I raised a brow. “What is it?” Cid went behind his counter and pulled up a book that he placed on his counter.

“Just this book. It’s real old. When the guy brought it in, it was practically fallin apart. Too beat up to restore it to the way it was. But overall, I did a decent job puttin’ it back together.” He explained. “Anyway, you mind deliverin’ it for me?”

“Sure, we got time since we’re going to be here for a while” Sora said. Cid grinned and handed me the book before saying “It’s the old house in the third district. Just look for a big fire sign on a door”

“Okay” I looked at the book, noticing all the small scratches and tears at the edge of the book, showing the wear and tear it’s gone through. I turned the book slightly, rather amazed how thick the storybook was. I was slowly about to open it when the entire shop suddenly jerk and shook, dust drifting from the ceiling. Bells seemed to bellow in the distant, was this the cause of the shaking???

“Whoa-Whoa!” Cid caught some of his merchandise before they fell to the ground. “Not again!”

After a terrifying minute, the entire floor calmed down, and Cid relaxed, beginning to organize his shelves again.

“Wh-what was that?!” Asked a bewildered Sora. Cid looked over as he began placing some of the fallen items back. “Hmm? The bell at the old gizmo shop is ringing. We can check it out after you deliever that book for me. So get on moving!” He turned and totally ignored Sora’s further questions.

“Well I guess we’re going then!” I said as we walked up to the third district’s doors that were recently opened up to the first district. “Yeah,” Sora then looked at the book and tilted his head. “But I wonder what’s so important about that book?” I shrugged and gave the book over to Sora so he could look at it more.

“We’ll find out soon enough”

With that in mind, we took the short cut way to the Third District, thankfully no heartless were around to deal with at this point. With the book neatly at my side, I looked around the spacious area in case if a heartless were to pop up. Donald seemed to be grumbling behind me, mentioning how Cid didn’t have to explode like that. Sora chuckled beside me and I could only imagine that he’s thinking how Donald explodes all the time.

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck when Goofy called out loudly. Rushing over, we joined Goofy towards a mysteriously placed door with a fire emblem painted along the door.

“Is this the door Cid was talking about?” Goofy questioned and I nodded. “I guess so, he did say it had a flame on it” Sora decided and tried finding a way to open it. I put my hand over my mouth as I softly started laughing at the attempt Sora and Donald gave. Even Goofy seemed puzzled at their attempts to lift the door up. I shook my head, chuckling loudly before patting both of them on the back.

“Okay, let’s think rationally, step aside boys,” I held my hand out and gestured it back, warning the two to move away from the door. I exhaled, focusing the heat towards the palm of my hand. “Fire!” The flame morphed and shot forward, hitting the wall. It spread along the emblem, burning and shining the seemingly lifeless print to glow radiantly. With a jolt the door began to glide upwards, and I grinned in success.

“All right” I cheered, turning to the others. “Now let’s go!”

Sora pouted with Donald crossing his arms but before decided to head in first. Heading beyond the door, it remained open providing the only light we had left. It was somewhat dark but not to the point where you couldn’t see where you was going. I exhaled, gazing around the cavern. A lake rested within these walls and in the center was a small island that seemed to have an old, abandoned house. The only thing connecting the house to the shore we stood by were these floating slabs of stone, drifting ever so slightly in the water.

“Wow” I exclaimed, watching as the flat rocks floated along the water. “Should we cross it?” Sora nodded and he jumped on the first stone. “See there’s no problem to this!”

That’s when he jumped onto the next stone and it began moving right as he landed on it, sending him into a frenzy to keep balanced. “WHOA!”

“Ah! Be careful Sora!” Donald warned Sora who was trying to balance himself out. He nodded and noticed all the other stones beginning to move.

“Oh jeez” I groaned and took a step back. I guess I was going next. I leapt forward, barely making it to the stone surface. I rested my hands on the stone, trying to make sure I wouldn’t end up slipping. From there on I simply kept repeating the movements with Donald and Goofy not too far behind me. Taking the last leap, I landed with a tumble onto the island, sighing in relief that I didn’t fall into the water.

“Phew…” I rubbed my forehead, glancing over towards Sora who seemed to be observing the house, almost mesmerized by it. “Who would live in a place like this?” I questioned, hearing Donald made a leap and fell behind me, grumbling loudly, “I don’t even think anyone lives here”

Goofy landed lastly, easily moving past us and humming.

“Hey fellas! There’s the door” Goofy pointed to a large hole in the side of the house that was only covered by a sheet. “Let’s take a look” I gulped and gave a skeptical second look of the place. Sure I knew this is where Merlin lives, but I’m in the game now, I don’t know if heartless are in there, or worse.

“Hey you okay?” Donald was staring at me and I shook my head. “Oh yeah, I’m not creeped out by this at all,”

“No one said you were,” ……. “Well I’m not…” I rubbed my arms gently, following closely after Goofy with Donald walking behind me. When we entered inside we were met with…really nothing. It was an empty area, with a couple spider webs and steps that led to a small place where Merlin’s table would sit eventually.

“Guess no one’s home” I joked and spinned around. I wasn’t bored! I was actually not bored even if this place WAS boring. I continued spinning around till the point I started getting dizzy and I got hold of the wall. ‘Okay! Don’t do that again!”

I touched my head and sighed before looking over to Sora. He seemed to be distracted, staring towards the far distant side of the room. I blinked gently, tilting my head as I took a step forward, waving a hand at the back of his head. No response or reaction from him. Damn… he’s listening intently. “Kairi?” He murmured. I quirked a brow and looked over to Donald and Goofy who were both sharing the same look I had.

Confused and worried if he’s gone mental. I frowned slightly, Kairi was talking to him and he’s the only one that can see her, poor guy. “Sora?” Goofy called out and Sora finally snapped out of his staring trance. “Well, Well,” A voice echoed and I jumped. ‘Gah! Anything freaks me out these days’ I thought angrily and turned with the others to see Merlin! Wow, his beard is really long.

“You’ve arrived sooner than I expected” He exclaimed and gave a warm smile. “Wha…you knew we were coming?” Sora questioned. “Of course” He replied pleasantly.

“Are you….a heartless?” Sora suddenly questioned. With all the power in me, I had resisted slapping the back of his head.

“Sora!? Does he look like a heartless to you!?” I asked while Sora laughed nervously. “Oh my, no. My name is Merlin. As you can see, I am a sorcerer.” He regarded to his robes and bag. Donald seemed surprised, jumping in place.

“Really?” Donald questioned in delight. Merlin chuckled, nodding. “Yes, I spend much of my time traveling, however it’s good to be home” He remarked and walked up the steps, placing his bag down. “Your King had requested my help.” Merlin explained and both Donald and Goofy jumped in delight.

“King Mickey?!” Goofy asked. “Yes indeed. Donald, Goofy, I presume,” The two had nodded, grinning from ear to ear to hear word about the King. “and who might you be young man?” Merlin asked Sora. “I’m Sora” He then turned to me and asked “And you young lady?”

“Michelle” Merlin smiled and turned to Donald and Goofy. “Ah. So have you found the key?”

“What did the king ask you to do?” Donald said, changing the entire conversation. And somehow Merlin fell for it. “Just a moment…” He walked up the steps and placed his suitcase down. He pulled a wand from his sleeve and said “Presto!” Suddenly his suit case opened and small furniture began to come out and grew larger and larger.

“Whoa…” My eyes widen in amazement when the entire room was finally filled with furniture, books, everything! Wow, I wonder where he was when my sister was moving into her house!

“There, now. Ahem. Your king asked me to train you all in the art of magic.” Donald’s and my eyes both lit up and we gasped. ‘REALLY!?” Merlin nodded.

“We can start anytime you like” He offered then paused before he was going to say anything. “Oh one more thing!” He pointed to a small little carriage that was in the corner of the room. “Miss, Fairy Godmother” Merlin called and the carriage began to sparkle and just like that, the Fairy Godmother appeared. “Whoa!”

“Hello. I’m the Fairy Godmother. Your king asked me to help, too.” She greeted. “I will assist throughout your journey as well” Merlin smiled and then said “I do not know how much we can be of help but do stop by anytime” “Can we start on the training!?” Donald begged.

“Oh certainly!” I smiled but then stopped. “Wait! Um, this is from Cid!” I pulled the book out and handed it over to a surprised Merlin. “So Cid asked you to bring this. Thank you” He placed the book on a wooden stool when Sora asked “What kind of a book is it? It doesn’t even have a cover or pages”

Merlin looked back at us then back to the book. “I don’t even know myself. In fact, it’s not mine. Somehow it found its way into my bag one day. It was such a curiously book, I asked Cid to repair it for me.”

“So is it really important?” Sora asked. “Yes, this book holds a great secret. The missing pages will unlock it.” He then rolled up his sleeve. “And now for your magic training, follow me!”

I gulped, I knew this was going to be a hard training session.


	10. Old Friends, Old Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More and more, thank you for reading!! Enjoy!

“Yeouch!” Sora waved his hand, flames dispersing eventually and he cringed, finding a burn was beginning to form on his hand. “Ahh, this is good! Now Michelle, remember what I taught you,” Merlin exclaimed and I nodded, pointing the keyblade towards Sora’s direction.

“HEAL!”

An emerald light appeared around Sora, significantly around his hand. When the light faded, Sora removed his glove, revealing that there was no burn marks. I grinned, spinning the keyblade before resting it on my shoulder. “Wow! I really am good at curing!”

“Yes, beside Fire being your most powerful form of magic, you do well with cure,” Merlin smiled and turned watching Donald and Sora fighting against each other, solely using magic once again.

“Wow, they’re really going all at it” Jiminy complemented as he stood on my shoulder. He scribbed into his journal, occasionally looking up to see their progression. “I guess,” I murmured in response. “You guess?” Jiminy repeated. I shrugged, crossing my arms lazily as I watched Sora dodge roll out of the way of one of Donald’s blizzard spells.

“If I place my munny on it, there’s probably another reason to this fight” Jiminy tilted his head curiously while I closed my eyes and held my right hand up. “Five, four, three, two, one” I counted down till Donald I heard yelled “WE’RE NOT COMPETING FOR WHO’S GOING TO DRIVE THE SHIP!” Que a wonderful slap to the face and a disappointed sigh admit from me.

I sighed while Jiminy shook his head, the amount of spells flying at this point was getting rather ridiculous, even Merlin seemed to have met his limit. “Now, now boys! I think you have had quiet enough training,” Merlin remarked. Before Donald and Sora could cast another spell, both stopped and looked towards Merlin’s direction. “You all are strong though there is much more you can learn, but you need to learn them on your own.”

“Aww,” Donald pouted, crossing his arms. Merlin smiled, adjusting his glasses. “You’re more than welcome to come here anytime to train however, that I can guarantee.”

“Thanks Merlin!” Goofy smiled and Sora nodded in agreement.

“Hey Merlin, do you know what this is?” Sora pulled the stone Leon had gave him earlier and handed it to Merlin. Merlin took it and examined it. “A summon gem! Why, this is a rare find indeed!”

“Summon gem?” Sora and I questioned. I knew it was called something like that, but I can’t remember exactly, but now I can! :D

“You should show this to Fairy Godmother, she is more informed of this then I am” Merlin directed us and I smiled.

“Thanks Merlin, for everything, training and information!” I thanked him and headed down back to the room, startling Fairy Godmother from her cup of tea. I smiled sheepishly, waving awkwardly as Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumped down beside.

“Fairy Godmother, do you think you can explain to us what this is?” Sora requested and presented her with the summoning gem. Immediately she sat up from her seat, quickly moving towards him and took the stone carefully away. “Oh dear! A summon gem!” She examined it, looking for any sorts of cracks.

“Okay…now what is a summon gem?” Sora pressed.

“A summon gem is a creature that live in a world that was consumed by darkness. When a world vanishes, so do its inhabitants, But this on had such a strong heart, he became a gem instead of vanishing with his world.” She explained and smiled heartily when she gave it back to Sora.

“Can he regain himself?” Sora asked. “Yes, but only his sprit. Now, watch!” She took a wand from her sleeves, tapping it along her palm to get the glitter of magic going. Smiling affirmatively, she waved her hand forward. “Bibbity bobbity boo!” The gem in Sora’s hand suddenly lit up brightly and it suddenly began to take a shape. “WHOA!” I jumped back when a lion appeared in front of us and roared loudly.

Donald quacked and hid behind Goofy. Sora seemed nervous but then his eyes widen slightly. “Wait, your name’s Simba?”

“Huh?” I blinked in amazement. How did he know Simba’s name!? Did it just come to him or something!? Simba nodded and he soon disappeared, suddenly our keyblades glowed then it returned to its original color.

“See. Now you can both summon him. Whenever you call, he will help you. If you find any more of these, bring them to me.”

“So what’ll happen to them?” Donald asked her. “Oh don’t worry, when their worlds are restored they will return there. Sora, Michelle, please help save them.”

Sora gave a nod and said “Don’t worry we will” I nodded in agreement. She smiled and began to fade away in glitter, and the only thing that remained was the carriage she appeared from.

“You better go see Cid before you go off anywhere else” Merlin advised us and Donald nodded. “Right! He’s fixing up the Gummi Ship for us! C’mon!” We all then turned to Merlin and bowed slightly. “Thanks for training! We’ll come soon and hopefully find those pages!”

“Have a safe journey lads and lady!” I cocked a brow and smiled. “All right! Back to jumping along the river stones!” After carefully jumping over that, I walked slowly, looking around the cave. “It’s been 8 days already, wow” I murmured and walked out the cave back into the Third District. The door closed behind me and suddenly, I got a freaking bad feeling.

“Heartless!” I heard Donald yell and I gasped. Right when I was going to run after them, I heard another voice, one I wasn’t use to. “There you are. What’s going on?” It took me a minute, but I recognized that voice and Sora obviously recognized it.

I slowly moved behind the wall and watched as Sora shouted “Riku!” He went towards him and started pulling on his mouth. “Hey, hey, cut it out.” Riku said. “I’m not dreaming this time, right?” Sora asked, looking rather startled to see his friend. “I hope not. Took forever to find you.” He exclaimed and Sora laughed.

I peered over the wall edge before Jiminy jumped to my shoulder. Was he really in my hood this whole time?? “Michelle? Why aren’t you going over there with the others?” Jiminy asked. I had to make something, maybe I could tell Jiminy. You know I’ll tell him later.

“I just got this bad feeling from this guy…I don’t know why” I lied, answering the question. Hey I was telling the truth at the same time. I had a bad feeling about Riku, kind of strange when I never even talked to him. “Isn’t this Sora’s friend though?”

“Friend or not…something about him is off,” I narrowed my eyes, watching the conversation between Sora and Riku progress. “Wait a second where’s Kairi?” Sora asked.

“Isn’t she with you?” Riku retorted. Sora sadly shook his head. Riku had a questionable look and looked over to where I was hiding but I quickly moved out the way. “Well, don’t worry. I’m sure she made it off the island, too.” He reassured walking past Sora.

“We’re finally free. Hey, she might be even looking for us now. We’ll all be together again soon.” Riku determinedly said. “Don’t worry, just leave everything to me. I know this…” Just as Riku said something Sora attacked a shadow that was behind him. Riku starred at Sora as he placed his keyblade behind his head.

“Leave it to who?” Sora asked. Riku stood there, his eyes widen in disbelief. “Sora, what did you…?”

“I’ve been looking for you and Kairi, too, with their help.” Sora said. Donald nodded as Goofy looked around. Did he notice I was gone?

“Who are they?” Riku asked, looking over to Donald and Goofy. “Ahem, my name is—”

“We’ve visited so many places and worlds, looking for you.” Sora interrupted Donald receiving a glare from him. “Really? Well, what do you know? I never would have guessed” Riku said surprisingly.

“Oh and guess what? Sora’s the keyblade master” Goofy said placing his hands on Sora’s shoulder. “Who would’ve thought it?” Donald said looking around for me then looked at Sora crossing his arms. I flinched when they said that. I saw Riku do the same. Yeah…who would’ve thought?

“What’s that suppose to mean!?”

“So, this is called a Keyblade?” Riku asked holding Sora’s keyblade. “Huh?” “When did he get a hold of Sora’s keyblade?” Jiminy asked while Sora shouted “Hey, give it back.” He ran to Riku, but he jumped away causing Sora to fall. Riku kept examining it.

Riku smirked when he was done, swinging the blade back before tossing it, “Catch” Sora caught it, stumbling forward slightly but looked up and smiled to Riku.

“Okay, so, you’re coming with us, right? We’ve got this awesome rocket. Wait ‘til you see it!” Sora exclaimed. Donald huffed loudly, shaking his head wildly and turned towards Sora. “No, he can’t come!” Donald declared shocking Sora as a response. “What?!”

“Forget it!” Donald resisted.

“Oh come on! He’s my friend!” Sora argued.

“I don’t care! We all ready got four on these ship, we don’t need any more!” Donald yelled at Sora.

“Hey, Riku’s leaving!” Jiminy pointed out. I moved away and began walking towards Sora, Donald, and Goofy. He noticed me but kept walking before ultimately disappearing from my view. I narrowed my eyes, exhaling heavily. Something was…really strange about him. “He didn’t even bother to give a glance, what a strange boy” Jiminy concluded and began writing in his journal.

“I don’t trust him Jiminy, please don’t tell Sora” Jiminy looked at me before he smiled, nodding gently and continued to write down in his journal. Sora and Donald were still arguing when Goofy looked around, scratching the back of his head. “Uh…he’s gone.” Goofy pointed out. Sora halted, darting his attention around the spacious area.

“Riku?” Sora called out loudly. Sora sighed before turning to Donald. “Nice job Donald,”

“Hey! I’m not the one trying to invite more people on an ALREADY crowded ship” Donald countered and crossed his arms. Sora smiled apologetically and put his hands behind his head. “Oh well. At least he’s okay. And who knows? Maybe we’ll run into Kairi soon, too.” Sora smiled brightly, his eyes showing his determination.

I smiled softly but it grew into a frown. Riku. Ugh, I hated him in the first game, middle, and for a WHILE in KH2 but apparently I warmed up to him. It just went right back down when I saw him. Something about him, it seemed suspicious. The aura around him screamed bad news.

“Hey Michelle, where were you?” I snapped out of my thoughts to see all three guys staring at. I jumped slightly, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Oh! I left something at Merlin’s so I had to run back” I lied smoothly, smiling gently. From the corner of my eye however I could see Jiminy frown, shaking his head and continued writing in the journal. Oh what? I can lie. Donald and Sora had skeptical looks while Goofy nodded.

“HEY!”

Our attention was averted towards the ledge where the staircase led. Yuffie waved wildly, grinning at the sight of us. I sighed softly in relief as it seems Yuffie saved my butt from being questioned any further. I waved back to her and shouted that we would be up in a minute. I smiled gently, looking to the others and waved them to follow.

Goofy immediately followed, catching up to me and asking if I had managed to get what I needed. I smiled, nodding and began to head up the steps. I momentarily looked back, seeing Sora and Donald were finally catching up though I couldn’t help but get this weird feeling. Like…someone was watching us still.

“Leon wants us in the Small House! C’mon!” Yuffie called out, standing patiently at the top of the steps.

I shook my head, huffing slightly and focused at the task at hand. At least now that I’m stuck in the game, I’m going to have a chance to beat the crap out of Riku. Yuffie whacked my back, grinning and lead the group to the apartment that I had original thought was locked off. With a simple turn of the knob, we entered a quaint room, filled with boxes, unoccupied beds, a table and dust. Standing at each corner of the room was also Leon, Aerith, and Cid, conversing to each other about something.

“Hey, nice of you to join us,” Cid remarked causing me to roll my eyes. “We delivered the book like you ask. Sorry we took a while,” I responded. Cid chuckled waving his hand. Leon rolled his eyes, crossing his arms firmly against one another and looked to us.

“You guys ever hear of Maleficent?” Leon asked, the room silencing completely upon her name being spoken, “I hear she’s in town.”

I gulped, shaking my head at the thought. Of course I’ve heard of her, she brings nightmare to little kids who watched Sleeping Beauty and heard her crazy, demonic laugh. It was enough that I was slightly traumatized by the story she foretold to Prince Philip on how he would one day after a hundred years, be able to finally awaken his princes. To imagine…she was actually here in the flesh. Ugh, I could feel the shivers.

“Who is she?” Sora asked. Cid gasped and stared at him flabbergasted. He waved his “A witch, man, she’s a witch!” Cid said with loud emphasis on the witch part. Leon nodded grimly, his lips quirked.

“She’s the reason this town is full of heartless. Don’t take her lightly,” Leon warned. Aerith nodded, folding her hands together and sighed softly. “She’s been using the heartless for years. She’s destroyed hundreds of lives,” Aerith said.

“We lost our world, thanks to her.” Leon sneered, his eyes full of anger. I took a step away from him, I felt like he was ready to punch the wall any minute now.

“One day, a swarm of Heartless took over our world! People didn’t even know what to do and there was chaos everywhere you went,” Cid began, “And imagine, that was nine years ago. I got out of that mess luckily with my Gummi Ship and came here with these guys.” He pointed to the three who didn’t bat an eye, already consumed in the past.

“That’s awful” Donald said. Aerith nodded, rubbing her temple delicately, pushing her bang out of her face.

“Our ruler was a wise man named Ansem. He dedicated his life to studying the Heartless.” Aerith began, “When the heartless began attacking, nothing that his research could do to help us at that time….we thought we would be safe.”

“Things happened, it wasn’t anything we could’ve done back then,” Yuffie consoled and Aerith nodded in agreement. Leon however turned to the side, scoffing. I raised a brow, paying particular attention to the male. He seemed rather…angry about the event. I mean, I don’t blame him. Lost your entire world to heartless…that’s unforgivable.

“Speaking of Ansem, his report should tell us how to get rid of the heartless now,” Cid noted causing Donald to raise a brow.

“Where’s this report?” Donald asked. “We don’t know. It got scattered when our world was destroyed.” Leon answered. “I’m sure Maleficent’s got most of the pages by now, damn witch,” Cid interjected, annoyed by the fact.

I zoned out momentarily, blurrily hearing Cid go on a rampage about how that witch caused so much trouble. I quirked my lips, a strange sensation lingering at the back of my neck and in the pit of my stomach. I blinked, turning slowly as I peered through the closed windows, noticing the curtains flap gently from the breeze outside.

I narrowed my attention, finding something out there. The curtain adjusted enough to fully turn, two figures standing outside. Those teal eyes that peered, relentless in it’s target and I couldn’t help but swallow roughly, wondering what the older woman beside him could be saying. She whispered things, terrible things, plaguing his mind to only pursue darkness as his only road.

I watched momentarily longer but when I caught her gaze, my eyes widen immediately and I turned away, finding myself slightly shaking. “Hey Michelle, you alright? You looked like you seen a ghost” I turned my attention to Yuffie and shook it. “Worse than that…” I answered and she tilted her head. “It’s n-nothing.”

I looked out the window once more and saw that no one was there. Riku nor Maleficent remained. I sighed in relief, wiping my forehead. Yuffie hummed, tapping her chin gently before smiling. “I’m taking you shopping!”

“Huh?” I looked up at Yuffie who nodded. “I mean seriously, you’re jacket looked like it caught on fire”

“Because it did….” I drawed slowly and Yuffie sigh loudly in disappointment. “That’s why you need a new one! And you need new /everything/, c’mon!” She grabbed my wrist and began dragging me.

“OH SHIT! SAVE MEEE!!!” I shouted, flailing my other arm in a desperate attempt to save myself. “THEY CAN’T SAVE YOU!” Yuffie laughed manically, grabbing hold of both of my shoulders and dragged me out of the door. “NOOOOO! I HATE SHOPPING!!!” I dragged my feet against the ground, groaning in defeat when I saw Aerith come out, closing the door behind her.

“Don’t tell me you are in on her crazy plan?” She smiled sheepishly and I dropped my head in sadness. “I promise I’ll make sure Yuffie doesn’t get carried away.” I groaned in response, finally nodding my head in acceptance of my fate.

“Don’t drag on me on for hours….”

[Later]

“See! What did I tell you! I’m a fashion expert!” I stared at the mirror in awe. Aside from keeping on my jeans and sneakers, I received a white tang-top along with a red vest over it, a new black jacket loosely hanging over my shoulder as I examined myself. “It looks really cool, thanks Yuffie” She smiled widely in her accomplishment.

“No problem! See Sora, look at what you missed out on, could’ve been out of your old clothes you’ve been wearing,” Sora glared at her from the corner of his eye, rolling his eyes and adjusted his jacket up, trying to hide one of the tears he got from a fight. I rubbed my head lightly, laughing gently. “Aww, don’t get so fussed up, Aerith can surely fix it for you if you ask nicely,” Cid teased, chuckling.

Aerith looked a little distant however and I raised a brow, tilting my head. “Aerith?” She blinked slowly before she began blinking rapidly, looking around before noticing mostly everyone was looking towards her direction.

“Oh, I was thinking about the bell in the Second District” She exclaimed. “That one that rang a bit ago?” Sora asked. Aerith nodded.

“The one above the gizmo shop. There’s a legend about it, you know.” Yuffie said.

“But it’s all boarded up. Nobody can get in there.” Aerith added and Yuffie nodded. “Heck, go check it out. Ring it three times to see if anything happens. Maybe something will show up,” Cid said. We all gave each other a look and shrugged. Leon did say we should try and seal the keyhole to this town maybe that was the way doing it. Oh what am I saying, that /is/ what we’re suppose to do!

“Why not?” I said, smiling with a small shrug.

“Oh, one more thing, by the time your down with that, your ship should be finished, heck, I threw in a warp gummi so you can travel to worlds you been to more easily” Cid added.

“Thanks Cid!” Goofy acknowledged.

“No problem, just meet me at the first district” I nodded and when we were about to leave, Leon finally decided to say something.

“Be careful, heartless are crawling all around that place” Leon warned.

“Yeah, yeah, we know” I said and walked out the door, the boys following shortly after. Sora hummed, rubbing his chin in thought. “I wonder why Cid said three times.” Sora pondered while we were walking there. “I don’t know. Maybe that was the first number that popped into his head” Donald exclaimed.

We went to the gizmo shop, exited and climbed up the ladder to see where the bell was. I groaned in annoyance when I saw the area where the bell was placed was all boarded up. “Hey lookie there! Another Trinity mark” Goofy pointed out and we all looked to see the red trinity mark. “Oh god!” I hit my head and we all looked towards the stuff.

“I’m up first!” Donald took a step back and took a sprint towards the boarded up opening. “WATCH OUT!” Sora charged right after Donald, slamming into it, shaking the interior a bit. Goofy soon followed and slammed into it, shaking it big time and pieces of wood fell. “KICK TIME!” This time Sora and I kicked down the boardings.

“All right!” I high fived Sora and we all looked at the bell. It was a relatively big bell, almost comparable to the Liberty Bell. “Wow, it sure is big” I complemented. It was a large, golden bell with small designs engraved into it. Dust covered it and the only thing that caught my attention beside that was the rope that was extended from it.

“Who wants to ring the bell?” I asked and Donald instantly went up to it and pulled on it. The bell rang loudly and I covered my ears. ‘Ugh, too loud!’ the chimes ranged in my ears moments after it had finally come to a stop. I walked off past that and looked towards the center of the Second District where the fountain was. I squinted

“Huh?” I swear I heard something move. I raced over to the edge and looked closely. “Hey! Pull on the bell again” I shouted. Sora took the rope from Donald and pulled down hard causing the bell to ring. Suddenly the block where the mural was in the fountain began to move and a tree moved there, lighting up the entire place. “Oh wow!” I jumped up and turned again. “Try one more time!”

Goofy did the honors and pulled it. Suddenly water started shooting up and the block moved to show a mural with a single flower and butterflies surrounding it. Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran over to my side and gasped. The water began sparkling and it revealed a keyhole.

“Ah! So there is a keyhole here!” Donald said in amazement.

“Never again doubt Leon!” I grinned. “Now we have to think of a quick way out of here!” Suddenly Sora jumped off the ledge of the church making me freak out.

“DAMN IT! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS SUGGEST JUMPING OFF OUTRAGEOUS HEIGHTS!?” I shouted and glared at the falling Sora who landed safely on the ground. “I’m taking the ladder” I growled and heading down the ladder why Goofy dived off the church making Donald quack loudly.

After jumping from a ‘safer’ point, I caught up with the gang who was looking at the fountain in awe. “So this is the keyhole of Traverse Town” I commented and looked at it. “Let’s lock it up” Right when Sora took another step closer, large metal pieces fell in front of the fountain, blocking us from it. “OH SNAP!” My eyes widen when I saw what it really was.

“THE GUARD ARMOR!” I freaked out and jumped when it began assembling itself. “Hey! Didn’t we beat this before!?” Sora questioned loudly. “We did but it’s back!” I held my hand out and my keyblade came to hand. “So now we got to beat it again!” With that we all had our weapons.

“Thunder!” Lightning struck it but it began swinging its arm around but we all avoided it and Sora stopped it and the armor fell to the floor.

“Is it just me or was this easy?” I asked curiously. “HA! We did get stronger then!” Sora smiled proudly and Donald nodded his head in agreement. Suddenly the armor twitched a bit. “Uh, fellas?” Goofy pointed towards the armor that began moving.

“What’s it doing?” I muttered and got a closer look. Suddenly the armor was back up in the air, but it was changing. It placed its hands on the ground and stood up. The feet turned to the hands/claws and the mask came down showing the yellow eyes. “Oh god” I cried and took a step quickly back. “Great, now it’s Opposite Armor!”

“Hey! No fair!” Donald accused loudly. “Nothings ever fair” I murmured in sorrow and dropped my head disappointingly. “Watch out!” I looked right back up seeing the heartless was floating above us, ready to charge at us any second.

“Oh damn!” I rolled out the way along with the others while the heartless swooped down, completely missing us. “That was close” I jumped to my feet and held my Bleeding Hearts closely to me.

“Thunder!” The lightning struck the armor and Sora took his chance by hitting it in the center causing all the armor to separate. Of course, the hands and legs are the only things that would fall, not the body and head. “All right, let’s do this”

I jumped up and began hitting the body and landed back to the ground when I pointed the keyblade at it. “Fire!” The flame struck the head causing it to jerk back but it suddenly moved quickly back to its original position. “What’s it doing?”

Suddenly the claws came from behind me and grabbed me. “This never happened!!” I gasped and tried moving but it kept tightening its grip on me.

“Michelle!” Sora yelled and I kept moving my arm. This definitely didn’t happen in the game. Now Sora had to deal with the feet while I was being crushed to death practically. “Blizzard!” Donald yelled and froze one of the feet. Sora charged at it and smashed his keyblade it, totally destroying it.

“Blizzard!” The other foot froze and Sora turned his head to Goofy. “Goofy, now!” Goofy grabbed his shield and tossed his shield, hitting the heartless’s head and the hands lost grip giving me time to hold my hand out. “THUNDER!” I shouted.

Lightning struck the hands as I fell to the ground. “Michelle!” I laughed lightly as my eyes spinned a little. “Cure!” A green light surrounded me and I suddenly felt…better. A lot better. I sat up and said “Thanks Donald” Donald nodded and we looked back at the heartless.

“Take this!” Sora jumped up and began hitting the body of the heartless with a barrage of attacks along with Goofy’s shield hitting it back and forth. “Thunder!” Donald and I shouted and took care of the last foot before I looked back to the hands.

An evil smile came to my face as I got my keyblade back. “REVENGE!” I said and jumped up. I spinned and smashed both the hands to the ground. “Fire!” I shouted while Donald waved his wand high up and shouted “Thunder!” The two magic spells combined and nearly combusted when collided with the two claws.

They both crumbled away and I landed next to Donald. “All right!” Suddenly Sora landed right next to us. “Oww”

“Cure!” A green light went around Sora and he thanked Donald. The body now flipped and the head was now on top and the empty part was pointed right at us.

It began lighting up and we all suddenly knew what it was doing. “RUN FOR IT!” Donald and I shouted and ran out the way as did Sora when a large energy ball crashed right behind us. I got knocked off my feet and hit the ground. “Wow that was really close!” I shouted and Sora nodded.

“C’mon! We need to distract it!” Sora decided while Goofy was running around avoiding another energy ball attack from the heartless. “And how are we going to do that?” I asked him nervously.

“You and Goofy try to get its attention then we’ll all finish it off!” He decided. I stared at him ridiculously. I can’t believe I’m working with a guy like him. “All right,” I stood up and ran right towards the Opposite armor. “HEEEY!! You can’t hit me! Nya!” I stuck my tongue out and pointed my keyblade at it.

It turned and nearly shot me with an energy ball unless for me sprinting off after that. “THAT DEFINITELY CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION!” I freaked and turned. I turned quickly and skidded against the ground. “Take this!” I tossed my keyblade right when it began charging up and it smashed into it, causing a mini explosion and it crashed into the ground.

“Finish it off before it gets up Sora!” I cried and it began moving back to the air. “Got ya!” Sora quickly sliced it and landed behind it. THAT WAS SO COOL!

The heartless began shaking and the head fell to the ground. A giant pink heart was released into the air and it disappeared along with the heartless. A little wind blew by twirling around all of us before it disappeared.

“I’m guessing now we know how to use Aero,” I said to Donald who nodded. “Yup!”

Sora walked towards the keyhole that was emblemed into the wall. His keyblade began lighting up along with the keyhole and he pointed it at the keyhole. A shot of light went towards the keyhole, locking it. The keyhole disappeared, returning it to the picture from before. “And we did it!” I cheered.

“That was painful” Sora joked and I smiled. “Hey look!” I blinked and we all looked up at the sky. Grim looks came from me and Sora as we dropped our heads. “WE FOUGHT ALL NIGHT!?” We shouted. Small rays of light began lighting up giving it the orange, gold sunrise.

“I’m beat…” I groaned.

“Hey, let’s go check up on Cid and see if the Gummi’s ship done” Donald advised. “Oh yeah, let’s go” Right before we left, I saw two things laying on the ground. “Huh?” I grabbed a thing that looked a lot like a gummi block and a keychain.

 _‘Lurebreaker_ ’ I looked around before seeing that Sora and the others were at the door. “WAAAIIITTT!”

_ First District~ _

“So there was a keyhole to this world, eh” Cid grinned and laughed. “Good thing you locked it up then!”

“Hey Cid, is the ship done?” Cid nodded. “Yup! It’s all set and ready to go, man, I got such nostalgia working on a ship. I’m going back to my real job”

Sora raised a brow. “But don’t you work in the Accessory Store?” Cid shook his head. “That’s my part time job, what I really do is design and make gummi ships/ blocks. So if your ship ever needs something to install then come right back here! I’ll be glad to do it, free of charge even!”

I grinned and held out the gummi block I found after defeating the Opposite Armor. “Then you think you can install this?” He grabbed it and examined it. “Where did you find that?” Goofy asked me and I looked back towards the Second District. “When we beat the heartless, I found it laying on the ground. I thought it could be useful” I answered.

“Sorry kid, looks like this goes with another. You need to find the mate to this one first” Cid said and handed the gummi back to Sora. “All right, we’ll come back then when we find it” Cid smiled. “Good luck guys,” He said as we began to head off towards the gate. Off to the next worlds.

[Gummi Ship]

“It’s been more than a week of traveling” Sora acknowledged, rubbing the back of his head.

“Yeah and I’m going to sleep” I yawned, waving my hand. I flopped on the bed and grabbed the pillow, snuggling it into my chest. “I’ve missed you bed!” I murmured loudly. I sat up and pulled my Mp3 from the drawer. “I MISSED YOU Mp3!” I cried and rolled onto my side, tucking the earbuds close by my ears.

I relaxed, stretching and groaning from the strain I felt along my body. My eyes lulled gently and I yawned, gently tucking myself into the blankets, almost too tired to even think about taking a shower. I can take it later…before going to the new world. I shut my eyes, allowing myself to fall asleep. That’s when I heard a creak. I cracked my eye open, darting my attention to the door and raised a brow. I was pretty sure I closed the door fully before. I yawned, sitting up.

“Sora, I know you’re there” I chided tiredly, standing up. I headed over towards the door, peering out into the hall to find nobody was there. I blinked slowly and closed the door slowly, peering behind to make sure he wasn’t hiding there either. I scratched the back of my neck, my lips quirking.

“That’s……strange,” I muttered.

I didn’t want to honestly think about it anymore then I needed to. Dragging myself back to the bed, I slumped into the sheets and tugged the sheets over. I brushed my fingers into the sheets, briefly looking back towards the door. I couldn’t help but feel something was here. My lips curled into a frown and I settled myself back onto my side, shutting my eyes. I began drifting off into sleep, unable to block out the whispers.

_You do not belong_


	11. Dancing in the Desert Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now to Agrabah! Thanks for reading!

_You don’t belong here_

“Did you hear that?” I yawned, rubbing my head.

“Hear what?” Donald replied, raising a brow towards my direction. I slumped in my seat, groaning lightly at the strange whisper. For the past three nights I haven’t been able to sleep properly because of this noise. It doesn’t appear all day but when it does, it’s quiet but it slowly begins to boom, louder and louder in its accusation.

“Michelle, are you sure you don’t want to sleep? You look tired.” Donald remarked, taking a second to look over to me.

I rubbed my face, waving a hand gently. I was tired. I hadn’t gotten any sleep basically! As much as I craved for it, I knew I would not be able to sleep anytime soon. I smiled reassuringly at Donald when he leaned over, staring suspiciously. Okay, Donald, back it up a notch.

“Trust me, I’m fine,” I reassured. Donald hummed but resumed driving the ship, leaving me to my peace. “Why don’t you try driving Michelle then, you’ve been avoiding it, unlike /someone/” Donald darted his attention momentarily down the hall and I laughed gently, patting his head.

“I don’t think Sora is going to sneeze anytime soon,” I joked, “Sure, I’ll take a spin with this.” Donald smiled and got up from the seat and I quickly took his place. Never in my life have I seen controls like these. I blinked gently, really confused on what I was looking at.

“All right, what the heck is what?” I questioned, tracing along the buttons on the dash board. “Don’t touch that!” Donald shouted and I bolted in the seat, immediately turning to him with my hands up in the air.

“Sorry!” I slunk back into the seat, twiddling my fingers. Donald came to my side, pointing to the buttons and began explaining each and every one of them to me. Why the hell do we have half of this stuff on this ship?? WHY IS THERE A SELF DESTRUCT BUTTON?! At least it’s being covered by a metal box! But still!

“Who made this Gummi ship and why did they think it was smart to put an Auto-Shut Down??” I questioned, digging my fingers into my skull. “It’s probably for show,” I sweat dropped and groaned. “All right, now I get it, don’t touch any of the colored buttons except for the green and blue ones, DO NOT TOUCH THIS ONE OBVIOUSLY—” held my hand out to the self-destruct and shut down buttons, “And the little red buttons on the steering wheel are to shoot, right?”

“Yes, all right, /now/ you can drive,” Donald approved and I sighed in relief, dragging my fingers down my face.

“Finally…” I grabbed the wheel, keeping my arms straight and looked out into space, sighing. Donald took the seat beside and raised a brow. “You know you can relax a bit,” Donald said and I quirked my lips. “This is my first time driving…anything….I don’t want to mess up,”

“Aww, don’t worry Michelle,” Donald patted my arm but it didn’t reassure my stiffen arms. “It’s your first time and besides, there’s no harm done in learning. I mean, I’ve driven a Gummi Ship longer and that still didn’t stop us from crashing in Deep Jungle” Donald continued.

I hummed, nodding. I couldn’t control the way I held the steering wheel but I exhaled loudly, slouching gently. All right, relax, relax, nothing bad is going to happen.

_Keep fighting…but do not fight forever._

I rubbed my temple, grunting. This voice……this noise……whatever it is, it needs to stop. It’s bothering me a lot now. At first it was helpful, getting me through Deep Jungle. Now…it’s becoming bothersome.

“HEY! Stop the ship! We’re in the world already!” Donald grabbed my arm, shaking it wildly. I snapped out of my zone, and gasped, realizing how close we actually were. “Oh crap!” I pressed down upon the break, bringing the ship up as it rocked violently. I shut my eyes, gritting my teeth before it finally came to a stop. I cracked my eye open, darting it around to find that we weren’t dead or crashed or on fire. I didn’t meet the three objectives, perfect.

“Phew.” I slumped in the seat, my arms and my legs suddenly feeling like jelly. I looked over to see Donald gripping onto the arm rest for dear life. I scoffed softly, slowly picking myself up from the seat, looking out the window to see the vast amount of sand. Wow, we’re at Agrabah. “Um….we’re here” I announced.

Seconds later I could hear Sora and Goofy groaning from down the hall and Donald finally fell to the ground.

Whoops.

[Agrabah]

We jumped off the ship, and when I fell face first into sand, I knew I wasn’t going to like it here. BLAH! Sand in my mouth! “Is there anything here?” Donald asked while I repeatedly began spitting out sand from my mouth. Oh great! “I don’t see anything, all there is miles and miles of desert!” Sora answered and examined the sand dunes. I shook my head and stared up at the sky.

“Don’t forget it’s blazing hot” I added. Oh we definitely were in a bad situation. Not the best spot to be in right now. “How about we begin walking and see if we find anything” Sora suggested. “It’s worth a try” I mentioned and took one step.

Only one and I already began sliding. “Oh jeez!!” Now came tumbling down the sand I went. Sora and Donald watched as Goofy only followed with me down the sand. “Whoa!” I tripped and fell to the sand. I sat up and watched as moving sand kept moving Goofy past me. “Okay, next time gotta be careful” I murmured.

Donald huffed, taking his time to get down while Sora managed to get down quickly. I sat up at this time, shaking sand out of my hair and removing it from my arms while Goofy removed his hat, pouring out a ridiculous amount of sand.

“So this place is a dud!” Donald snapped to Sora when they reached over to us. “No! We just probably ended up in the wrong place!” I groaned when they began arguing. I think they argue more than at my house, now that’s saying something. I stood up and looked when something caught my eye.

“Is that a town?” I muttered loudly. Was it a hallucination? Was my mind going crazy from the heat!? “You see it too right?” I questioned. “Huh?”

Donald and Sora looked in the direction I was looking at when they both jumped. “SEE! I TOLD YOU!” Sora jumped and cheered. “Let’s go!”

The door to the city was wide open so we all just decided to waltz on in. The streets looked abandoned and shops that usually would have sold food or items to civilians were beginning to get covered in sand. “Still looks like a dud to me…” Donald murmured. I examined the street, humming softly. Where was everyone?

“Wonder where everyone is” Sora looked around with Goofy and Donald while I looked up at the sky….err…uh oh.

“GUYS!” I shouted when I saw heartless appearing on some of the roof tops. The heartless leaped off and landed in front of us with long knifes in hand.

“Oh great,” Donald snapped. Sora was first to charge and began fighting two of the heartless. Donald was repeatedly yelling “Blizzard! Blizzard!” Goofy tossed his shield hitting creates that were behind two heartless and crushed them. I blocked the heartless when it tried hitting me with its knife and I pushed it off only to slash the heartless in half, letting it fade away in the black ash.

Basically, that was it for the heartless match. “Okay, at least we know WHY this place is deserted” I exclaimed after the keyblade disappeared from my hand. “Yeah, heartless are everywhere” Sora said.

“You think the King could be here?” Goofy asked. “Could be, but we have to look for the keyhole now!” Donald said. I smiled and looked down the street. “Let’s keep looking!” So we began to go down the main street and we took a turn since there was only one way to go after that.

“I wonder how the heartless came here in the first place” I said while crossing my arms in front of me. Well, isn’t that the question for every world. I let my arms fall to my side and I leaned forward slightly. “Huh!” I straightened up, looking around the seemingly abandoned market area. I stared at Sora strangely causing him to ask “What?”

“Wait, you didn’t make that noise?” I looked over to Donald and Goofy who both shook their heads. “Hey, if anyone is out there, you can come out, we’re friendly!” I shouted. It was moments before something shuffled against.

“Who’s there?” That caused all of us to turn and look around. We were surrounded by crates and barrels. There didn’t seem like there was much here. “Umm,” Sora was looking around and I sighed. “I’m Michelle, and these are my friends Sora, Donald, and Goofy. We’re not going to do anything! I swear, you can trust us,” I exclaimed to the unknown person.

Suddenly someone appeared from behind some creates. Long black hair was kept neatly in a long ponytail, she wore a regal green clothes. She nervously looked at us but since we were just as shocked as her, she seemed rather comfortable with us. Holy crap, its princess Jasmine.

“Uh hi?” I began nervously. “Who are you?” Sora questioned. “I’m Jasmine” She introduced. Oh man! It’s interesting to meet an actual princess! Especially in a place like this! :D

“What are you doing hiding in a place like this?” I asked her curiously. She looked down at the ground sadly before looking back at us. “My father is the sultan of Agrabah but he has been deposed by Jafar, who now controls the city.” She explained. “So...uh…you’re saying you’re a princess?” Goofy questioned and she nodded in response.

“Jafar?” Sora questioned.

I groaned, rubbing my head. I thought came to my head. Since we come back here a second time in KH2, I wonder what caused them to be so traumatic over Jafar when they had that flashback on him and his manically crazy laughing problem….oh I hope I don’t end up like them at that time.

“You haven’t heard of him?” She asked. I have but I shook my head along with the others. Play along Michelle, just play along. “He’s the royal vizier. He’s gained evil powers and seized Agrabah. He’s desperately looking for something he calls the ‘keyhole’” She explained. That’s what caught all there full attention. “Really?” I asked. She nodded.

“Jafar caught me trying to escape, but _he_ helped me.” Jasmine emphasized he very kindly, smiling softly. “Who helped you?” Sora asked. “A boy named Aladdin,” She answered. “So what happened to him?” I asked. “We were hiding nearby, but he left a while ago to take care of something—oh I hope Aladdin’s all right”

“Aladdin? Where might I find this street rat?” We all turned our heads towards a ledge to see…JAFAR!

“Jasmine, allow me to find you more suitable company, my dear princess” he offered with a smug smile. She shook her head and took a step back. I glared at him really bad. I hate him, he’s not my favorite villain, and yet my friend says that his laugh is the most evil, funniest sounding.

“These little rats won’t do, you see.” He exclaimed. “Jasmine, run!” Sora told her and she nodded. “Be careful!” She warned us and began running as we took our weapons out. “Ah the two who holds the keys” He exclaimed with a smirk. He waved his hand and suddenly heartless appeared by his side.

“Get rid of them” He said and all the heartless jumped to where we were and he began walking off. “Tch, wimp!” I muttered in annoyance.

Bandit heartless attacked and I jumped back. I pulled my keyblade to my hand and blocked one of the heartless. “Okay! Not good!” I was being corned onto some creates so I decided to jump on. “Thunder!” I pointed the keyblade up and lightning struck the heartless. “Now for a Zack move!”

I jumped up and slashed the heartless, landing across from them and they disappeared. “All right!” I grinned and began jumping up and down. “That was so cool! I need to keep doing this!” I exclaimed but then realized that Sora, Donald, and Goofy were still fighting.

Whoops.

“YAAHHH!”

“Okay we’re done!” I skidded to a stop and blinked before looking around. “Well that was pointless!” I murmured quietly. I then began smiling brightly while twirling my keyblade and said “Was that it? Piece of cake”

“Sure it was” Sora said sarcastically. Then I got a thought. “Where’s Jasmine?!” I asked. The others looked to each other. “We got to go find her!” Donald said. “Come on!” Sora said.

We looked thru all the possible areas we could but one. “You think she might be up there?” I asked, trying to look up where the stairs lead. “One way to find out” Sora said and began going up the stairs. When we got up, we realized somebody had to live here. But no one was here.

“Let’s rest in here for now before we start looking for Jasmine” Sora suggested. I began looking around the room when I heard a small noise. It sounded like something was moving. So I looked under some junk and saw a rug. I raised a brow since it wasn’t moving but it looked exactly like Aladdin’s carpet.

I turned and saw Sora looking around the room with Goofy while Donald was looking out the window.

I pushed the stuff off and looked at the carpet. And continuously stared at it, just waiting to see if it moves. “Come on, I know you could move…” I whispered, anxious to see it move. “We need to know where Aladdin is!” That’s when the carpet suddenly got up and began flying around me, went over to Sora and Goofy causing them to freak out and flew out the window, almost knocking Donald down.

“What was that?!” Sora asked me. “A carpet” I said plainly. Donald leaned back out the window and saw the carpet flying around in the air. “The carpet flew off toward the desert. Let’s follow it!” Donald said. I looked to Sora who nodded in agreement. “Yeah!”

We jumped out the house and landed back on the main street. We walked to the plaza and entered the desert. We kept walking for what felt like hours in the hot, dry, windy climate but in reality (which I wasn’t in really XP) it was like only 10 minutes. “Too hot” I panted. Hey, I live in the cold climate! I’m not use to this kind of heat! It burns!!!

We all stopped walking and looked at how much desert we had left. “We’re gonna die if we keep walking” I said sitting down.

_Negative much?_

I scrunched my eyebrows together. It’s that voice again. The one I heard when we were in Deep Jungle. ‘Oh who’s asking you?!’ I thought in annoyance.

Suddenly the Carpet appeared in front of us, catching me off guard and began jumping around, pointing its pom-pom towards a certain direction.

“I think it wants us to ride it” I exclaimed. It began jumping up even more and finally settled down. “Maybe someone’s in trouble” Sora concluded and jumped on. I sat beside him while Goofy and Donald sat behind us. “Let’s go Carpet!” I said and suddenly we all flew off.

‘Oh my god,’ I thought when I looked over my side. ‘I’m flying. Not with wings but I could technically fly. Though this could be considered cheating because I’m on a carpet but still’ I couldn’t help but grin.

“This is so cool!” I thought out loud in amazement. The sand seemed never changing as we flew high up in the sky. And the way I was seeing all this looked like I was about to fall off any minute. But I it was worth risking, the view was beautiful from so high up in the sky.

“It beats walking that’s for sure” Sora commented. I nodded and gazed around the scenery. I hated this heat but I loved “Hey look at the sky ahead!” Goofy pointed out, stepping between me and Sora. We both looked forward and saw that the sky was getting darker to a point where it looked like it was night time over there.

“Whoa…” I gasped and Sora leaned in forward. “Wonder what’s over there?” Sora questioned. “Probably whatever this carpet wants us to see” I concluded. As we entered the area and the sky above us grew dark till the point we could see stars, I began to wonder how long we’ve been on carpet. It seemed only like half an hour but it could’ve been more for all I known.

“Hey! Look!” Donald was practically on Goofy’s shoulder, pointing towards a large structure. It was in a shape of a tiger, completely made out of sand. I gasped when I realized where we were. The Cave of Wonders.

We jumped off Carpet and Carpet began flying around. “Hey, lookie there!” Goofy yelled. In front of us there was quick sand that seemed to have someone in it. I covered my mouth preventing myself from gasping loudly while Donald shouted “We got to help him! Come on!” But before we could even get a chance, heartless began appearing from the sand. “Huh!?”

Sora quickly had his keyblade and slashed at a shadow that jumped up at us. “Michelle! Help that guy out while we take care of the heartless!” Sora ordered and I nodded. “Okay!” The three then began to fight against the heartless and I looked down the sand.

“Hey! Are you awake!?” I questioned.

Oh man! Aladdin does not seem awake! “WAKEY! WAKEY!” and for some reason thought by slapping his face a couple times, I could probably bring him back to his senses. And somehow it managed to work. I heard him groan and he managed to move him arm slightly out of the sand. I managed to grab his arm and began pulling him out when suddenly a monkey appeared from the back of his shirt and landed on my head.

“Oh jeez! Calm down!” I said quietly while Abu was freaking out.

“Cure!” A green light went around him and something caught my attention. “Hiiiya!” I twisted myself around and slashed a shadow that was about to jump me. “All right!” I grinned but suddenly my smile began to fade when more heartless appeared. And it seemed like there’s more heartless then there was before. “Gawrsh, not again!” Goofy cried out and Sora looked in both directions.

I looked down back at Aladdin seeing that he was wide awake, and saw our situation. He stood up and pulled a lamp from his sash. He then began to rub it and said “Genie! Get rid of these guys!” With that, a colorful smoke of blue came out of the lamp and Genie appeared! HOLY—oh my god, it’s Genie. This is weird. My jaw was hanging as I stood there in amazement. These are the reasons why I still haven’t gone mad with craziness or insanity. Meeting my favorite characters I use to look up when I was a kid is freaking awesome!!!

“Wish number one, coming right up!” Genie said. With a simple snap of his fingers and the heartless all disappeared, leaving all of us to stand there in amazement. “Whoa…” Sora gasped and looked to Aladdin and Genie. “That was so cool!” I cheered. “Why thank you! But I don’t make any guarantees that any more will come so I suggest you guys skedaddle” Genie suggested and Aladdin nodded.

Carpet then began flying above us, swirling around Aladdin making him laugh.

“Yo! Rugman! Haven’t seen you in a few millennia!” I’m still confused on how Genie knew Carpet before since they began high fiving each other. “Hey thanks for helping me out back there. Names Aladdin” Aladdin introduced.

“Sora and these are my friends Donald, Michelle, and Goofy” Sora replied and we waved quickly. “How about we have this conversation AFTER we get out of here. We’ll explain things on the way too” I suggested and began taking steps out. “Right!”

[Desert]

Soon, we were far away enough of the Cave of Wonders and Sora had just finished explaining to Aladdin why we came. “I see thanks”

“Aladdin, what’re you doing out here?” Sora asked. “Same old stuff. Hunting legendary treasure. Just paid a visit to the Cave of Wonders.” Aladdin smirked and looked over his shoulder. “I found that magic carpet. And this lamp.” He then pulled out the same lamp that Genie came from and said. “Legend has it whoever holds the lamp can summon the—”

“Please kid; leave the intros to a professional” Genie interrupted Aladdin, practically taking the spot light. Literally.

“The one and only GENIE OF THE LAMP!” Genie introduced loudly. “Rub-a-dub-dub the lamp and have your dearest wishes granted. Today’s winner is……Aladdin” he said throwing confetti around Aladdin. “Congratulations” He added.

“Any wish?” Donald asked, looking cute when he asked it. “Patience, my fine, feathered friend!” Genie said wagging a finger at him, scaring Donald. “Any three wishes!” He said holding three fingers and having two other genies making three as well. “A one wish, two wish, three wish. Then I make like a banana and split!” he said disappearing in thin air.

“Our lucky winner made his first wish” he said appearing out of nowhere next to me and Sora. “And let me tell you what a dolt that wish was” he said holding his hand by his face. “So he has two left!” Genie said with another Genie.

“So master, what’ll you have for wish number two?” He said casting a stage light over Aladdin. ‘Hmm, how about making me a fabulously wealthy prince?” Aladdin asked.

“Oooh! Money! Royalty! Fame! Why didn’t I think of that? Okay, you asked for it! A hundred servants and a hundred camels loaded with gold! Just say the word and I’ll deliver it in 30 minutes or less, or your meal’s free. Hey I’ll even throw in a cappuccino” Genie said putting his arm around Aladdin. “No thanks” “Okay” Aladdin stood for a minute before saying “I think I’ll put that on hold until we reach Agrabah.”

“Uh, why a prince?” Goofy asked. “You see, there’s this girl in Agrabah named Jasmine. But she’s a princess, and I’m…..Aw, she could never fall for a guy like me.” He said, dropping his head slightly. That’s when we all began thinking.

“Oh, princess?” Donald asked thinking. “Jasmine” Goofy continued. I slapped my head. WE NEARLY FORGOT ABOUT HER! “Oh yeah!” I said. “She’s in trouble, Aladdin” Sora said. Aladdin snapped his head towards us and looked at us with a shock face. “Yeah! Jafar is trying to get her and she’s hiding somewhere!!!” I panicked.

“What? Well, c’mon, let’s get going!” Aladdin said and we all climbed onto Carpet and flew off with Genie following.

“So how’ll long will it take to get to Agrabah?” “About 20 minutes, hopefully” I looked over my shoulder as did Sora when Genie began saying “Ah, fresh air! The great outdoors!”

“I guess you don’t get out much, huh?” Sora said. “Comes with the job, phenomenal cosmic powers. Itty-bitty living space” He exclaimed. “It’s always three wishes, then back to my portable prison. I’m lucky to see the light of day every century or two….” He said sadly catching Aladdin’s attention.

“Say, Genie, what if I use my last wish to free you from the lamp? What do you think?” H asked. Genie blinked and looked to him. “You’d do that?” He asked. “Genie, it’s a promise. After we help Jasmine.”

In what seemed like only minutes, we had made it back to Agrabah. “Let’s go to my place first” Aladdin said. “Why?” I asked him and he turned. “So you guys could tell me what’s been happening with Agrabah” He answered.

I narrowed my eyes and nodded. “All right! Lead the way” Turned out, the place where we found carpet also was Aladdin’s house. But how did Carpet get stuck under a box? I though Aladdin JUST found him when he left the Cave of Wonders….? I groaned silently. It didn’t make sense.

Sora was explaining what had happened and I looked out to the streets. All the streets were blocked and I muttered “How are we going to get through this…?”

“So, Jafar is after Jasmine and this ‘keyhole’” Aladdin recapped and Sora nodded. “That’s basically it”

“Keyhole, eh? I could swear I’ve heard about that somewhere before” Genie began tapping his head and Donald and I looked to him. “Really? Where?” Donald and I asked. “Now where was it? It’s only been 200 years” Genie exclaimed and I dropped my head.

“Well, anyway, we’ve got to stop Jafar before it’s too late” Sora said.

“How are we going to do that?” I asked him. “All the streets are blocked up no doubt the heartless did it” I continued. Aladdin smiled and pointed his thumb to his chest. “I know plenty of ways around Agrabah! Being a street rat has its advantages you know”

I smirked and Sora folded his arms. “Okay! So the next question is where Jasmine is?” Sora said and that’s when Genie took action. “Leave that to me! I’ll find her quicker than a flash!” He snapped his fingers then disappeared when suddenly he was back behind Goofy and I.

“I’m back! No charge!” I jumped and turned to Genie. “That was quick! Did you find her?” I asked. “Sure did! She’s in front of the Palace Gates though she’s with some creepy old guy who’s wearing fancy clothes” Genie explained and Aladdin growled “Jafar!” His fist tightened and said “We have to move fast, let’s go!”

Genie went back to the lamp and Carpet stayed at his house. I gulped and looked down. I think I realized I’m afraid of heights. “We need to cross over there to get to where Jasmine is” Aladdin exclaimed. Aladdin jumped across the roof tops and managed to get to the other side.

“Let’s go” Sora followed with Donald after him and Goofy went too. I stood there, mainly staring at the ground.

“Nothing is impossible!” I said to myself but I shook my head. “THOUGH THIS SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE!” I bit my lip and just jumped across. My left foot made it on the roof top but my other didn’t.

“Whoa, whoa!” I was beginning to fall back but Aladdin caught my arm. “Got ya!” “Huh! Thanks…” The others went through a hole in the wall and I slowly followed. Warning, don’t try again.

When we reached where we wanted, Aladdin kneeled down. “There’s Jasmine!” Sora whispered and got to Aladdin’s height. “All right!” Aladdin stood up and leaped off the roof with Sora following.

“Let’s go!” I gulped and jumped. The wind pushed all my hair back and when I landed on the ground, I could feel my body shaking silently. But I wasn’t worrying about that anymore.

“Setting your sights a little high, aren’t you, boy?” I was worrying about him now. Jafar turned to us and stood in front of Jasmine who eyes widen at the sight of Aladdin. “Back to your hole street rat, I will not allow you to trouble the princess anymore!” He exclaimed.

“Jasmine!” Jasmine took a step forward only for Jafar’s arm to block her. “I’m so sorry Aladdin” She apologized. Aladdin glared at Jafar and slowly took the lamp from his sash. He began rubbing it and whispered “Genie, help Jasmine. Please!”

And right away, Genie appeared behind Jafar and grabbed Jasmine. “One wish left! You’re making this really easy you know” Genie joked. I grinned but then saw Jafar’s evil smile appear on his face. “So sorry boy but I’m afraid your second wish has been denied”

Sora jumped when he noticed a bird in possession of the lamp and Aladdin checked his pockets and glared at Jafar when Iago dropped the lamp into Jafar’s hand. “I’m sorry, Al” Genie suddenly disappeared and dropped Jasmine who fell into a pot.

When the pots began growing legs, I knew we were in trouble. “And now, I bid you farewell.” Jafar said as more pots with legs came and began forming a Centipede like heartless. “Attack!” Jafar then disappeared and we were left with the heartless.

“HELP!!”

“Jasmine!” Aladdin pulled a sword from his sash and charged at one of the pots. “We gotta find Jasmine!” I yelled and my keyblade came to hand. Pots began to attack us as the main centipede heartless moved its way through the blockage into the main street.

“Hey come back here!” Sora and Aladdin both rushed after it while I smashed one of the pots into pieces.

“Thunder!” thunder hit the ground breaking four of the pots and Goofy took care of 3 more. I looked back to the main street seeing Aladdin smashing dozens of pots quickly but none with Jasmine.

I caught up with heartless and smashed apart of the body and somehow most of the pots separated. “All righ—” I was cut off when an electric antenna swung at me and knocked me off my feet and I landed on my back. “Guh!” I could feel my legs twitch and my arms were refusing to respond when I tried getting up.

“Cure!” I heard Sora shout and a green light came above me and I could feel my blood going through my legs again and I jumped up and said “Thanks Sora!” He nodded and then turned his attention back to the pots. He smashed three of them and I joined again.

“Aladdin!” I kept hearing Jasmine yell for help but every time I destroyed a pot, she wasn’t there. ‘Where could she be!?’ I thought angrily as I smashed another pot.

_You should know she’s not here._

‘Again’ that voice! I paused for a second when I realized, I did know she wasn’t here. I was getting so wrapped up on what was happen that I almost forgot.

_Don’t forget where you came from._

Why did it care?

I shook my head and jumped back when a pot charged at me and I continued stepping back till I pulled my keyblade in front of me and stabbed it. The pieces fell to the ground and I looked back to see there was only two pots left. The head and the back with the moving electrical antennas.

“Let’s finish this!” Sora said and Aladdin nodded in agreement. They both slashed at the pots even if they were moving more rapidly and violently. “Fire!” Donald and I shouted and the flame smashed into the face, stopping it momentarily giving Aladdin and Sora the chance to destroy it.

The heartless shook as a pink heart descended from the body and it disappeared, with Jasmine nowhere to be found. “Jasmine!” Aladdin yelled. I clenched my teeth but I jumped when I heard Jafar laughing. It was echoing all over Agrabah. Aladdin turned towards the desert, his brown eyes narrowing towards that direction.

“To the desert! Come on, let’s move!” Aladdin yelled and began sprinting towards the desert. Sora turned to us and said “Let’s go and catch up with him!” I nodded and began running along with the others. We reached the desert and Aladdin pulled up near us, already riding carpet.

We jumped on and headed straight out towards the Cave of Wonders. “What does Jafar need Genie for?” Sora questioned and I sat up. I began thinking when my eyes widen. “He’s trying to find the keyhole…” I gasped. Sora turned to me and his eyes widen. “You think?”

I nodded. “I’m positive. Genie can do it” I trialed off when Aladdin said “We have to save Jasmine and Genie!” I focused off into the desert. And this is the point where I knew, it was going to get much harder from here on out.

“But why would Jafar need Jasmine?” Donald questioned Goofy who shrugged.

“Maybe it has something to do with the keyhole” Goofy guessed. I breathed out and looked over to Sora who was talking with Aladdin.

I looked past them and I frowned slightly. “Is it just me or is it getting dark…” I asked and looked up at the sky. We were entering the area where the Cave of Wonders was at. We all jumped off carpet and looked to see the Cave of Wonders no where to be found.

“Hey…where is it?” I questioned as we began to move forward. Suddenly the ground started shaking and something arose from the ground. The Tiger head Guardian of the Cave of Wonders eyes were glowing purple and I sighed when heartless began to appear. “Great…the heartless are probably controlling it” I said and took out my keyblade out.

Sora was the first to charge at the heartless and I soon followed. I slashed at a Bandit and it jumped back and it’s sword appeared in its hand. It threw the sword and the hands began glowing purple as it was able to control it from a distance. I ducked when it whizzed over my head.

“That was close” I muttered when I saw it was coming from the ground this time. “Oh jeez!” I leaped up and threw my keyblade at the heartless, knocking it down and I caught my keyblade. “Take this!” I slashed at it three times and strike down at it. More heartless began to come and I looked to the Tiger Guardian. It’s eyes began to glow and lights shot out from it and nearly hit me but I fell back, quickly dodging it.

Aladdin was the closest to me when I looked over at him and yelled “Hey! There’s something controlling the Tiger Guardian! We need to get rid of it before it starts attacking us more!” Aladdin looked at me then to the Tiger head and nodded. “Let’s take care of it” He said and I nodded.

“CHARGE!” I shouted and past three Bandits that nearly decapitated me unless for me skidding on the ground before getting back up and running towards the Tiger Guardian. More of the lights came from the eyes but were targeting Donald this time. I turned slightly and shouted “Fire!”

The fire shout from the tip and dissolved the light when they collide against each other. “My aim is getting better!” I cheered before coming up behind the Guardian. Aladdin was already attacking the eyes when a light shined and the purple glow from the right eye faded away.

“So darkness is controlling it!” I said and jumped onto the head. Suddenly it began shaking a lot and Aladdin fell off and I nearly fell off. But I saved myself by digging my fingers into the sand. “Damn I hate this thing…” I growled and got onto my feet. I slowly made my way to the left eye and saw the purple glowing.

I looked over seeing Aladdin fighting more heartless with Sora, Donald, and Goofy. I looked back at the eye and thought ‘what’s probably the best way to get rid of this….?’ A smile began to appear on my face.

“Fire! Thunder! Blizzard!” I was spitting out random spells as they all hit the eye and some heartless that were getting close to me. “Why aren’t you going back to normal!?!” I yelled in annoyance and began smacking the eye. Suddenly it shook violently and I fell forward.

Oh fuck!!! I landed face first into the sand and I picked my head up. “Stupid head!” I yelled and threw the keyblade at it. It missed.

I twitched.

_Nice….._

“Are you serious!?!?” I shouted but then saw it coming back and it sliced at the eye. The purple glow suddenly disappeared and the Tiger Guardian moved back to its original position. I looked back and saw that there was no more heartless and Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aladdin were all staring at the Entrance.

“Ya-Yay…” I stuttered softly and got up. “I did it…” I gripped my head and laughed lightly. “All right, nice going Michelle!” Sora cheered and I smiled. “Thanks!” Aladdin smiled and looked to the Entrance to the Cave of Wonders, his expression turning serious.

“All right, let’s go in”


	12. Arabian Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter is out! Thank you for being patient! Hope you guys like what's ahead! Enjoy everyone!

The path ahead looked terrifying honestly, carved steps leading us down to what looked like an inevitable doom and fire. I swallowed, darting my attention to Aladdin who peered further and took the first step in to make sure nothing was going to crush us or instantly blow us up. I gritted my teeth, not wanting to see anything bad happen to him at this point. Aladdin peered around him and above before sighing in relief.

“It’s safe” Aladdin called out and I looked at Sora who seemed equally relieved. “You ready?” I asked him and he focused at first towards the entrance before nodding. I noticed something different. He seemed a little…distracted? I don’t know why but I just noticed it now. I was about to ask when he began heading forward and my shoulders slumped.

We slowly made our way in and down the steps to our inevitable deaths. I clung onto Goofy, particularly afraid I was going to miss a step and tumble over. The room was like a set for Indiana Jones or something. I shrugged the thought off and continued walking.

“So do you think Jafar is here?” Donald asked Aladdin. He nodded confidently.

“I’m sure of it. And if Jafar’s here, so will Jasmine” Aladdin said. I tilted my head. Aladdin was really determined to find Jasmine. I dropped my head and sighed. Jeez, if they keep saying Jasmine, I’m going to freak out at a point thinking it’s my friend. Only a one letter difference. Jasmine……Jazmine.

I scoffed, shaking my head in order to focus back on what’s important. This place was pretty creepy. The only light was the torches that were scattered throughout here. It was bright enough that you could walk but it wasn’t the most ideal place to fight heartless that may come from behind without notice.

“Keep your guards guys, who knows what may come” Aladdin warned as we entered another room of the Cave of Wonder. “Whoa…” I stared at awe at the ceiling and the room. This place was freaking screaming ‘I have traps!’

“This place looks really dangerous,” Goofy murmured and Donald nodded with a gulp. “But we gotta keep moving” Sora urged and continued walking after Aladdin. I began walking after Sora when I noticed something. A heartless was flying in the air when another one appeared. It was like a Large Body but it wore different clothing, more to what the bandits wore.

When it opened its mouth and I noticed little flames starting to form, I knew we were in trouble. “Heartless!” I shouted and Donald automatically turned to where I was looking at. Suddenly the heartless shot the flames at us and our eyes widen. “Whoa!” I dodged rolled to the other side while Donald quickly jumped away.

He pulled his wand out and shouted “Blizzard!” The icy spell made its way vs. the flamethrower and really did no damage. When it stopped I pulled my keyblade and charged at it. “Take this!” I skidded and began passing it quickly. (Like Sora’s Sonic Blade ability)

“It’s over!” I muttered and finished the last move. The Fat Bandit disappeared and I smirked.

“Heads up!” Aladdin shouted as he swung his sword around while fighting a Bandit. I looked to the side and ducked when water sprayed from a trap. “Jeez!” I growled and moved to a safer spot. Which was nowhere.... A Bandit came in front of me and I sighed. Suddenly it got crushed by a bolder causing me to jump and gap. When the boulder began to move towards my direction and I screeched, rushing away in terror.

“IT’S INDIANA JONES ALL OVER AGAIN!” I cried and ran past Sora who looked at me strangely before continuing to fight the shadows. I slashed at a shadow that came near me but turned my back. My eyes widen and noticed the dark, empty caverns below. I swallowed, backing away at least ten feet.

“If I fall, I’m dead” I cringed. Of course, the thought that there was water at the bottom didn’t make it any better. Looking from back to my front, I saw another Fat Bandit. “Michelle!” I looked seeing Sora, Donald, and Goofy all holding there weapons up. “Blizzard!” Goofy’s shield was frozen again and I noticed what they were doing. “Throw it Goofy!” I shouted and he tossed it.

With a quick dodge roll from a flaming rock that the Fat Bandit shot at me, I quickly smacked the shield, making it even go faster. It smacked right into the Fat Bandit and caused it to fall off the hall. I smiled and looked to the others. “All right!”

With the heartless gone from here, I looked down at the gorge below. “Where does that lead?” Sora questioned Aladdin who was walking up to us while placing his sword back. Aladdin walked next to us and looked down. He kicked a rock down.

We all leaned in and for a while, I didn’t hear anything. Then, there was a tiny little splash noise. Sora whistled, rubbing the back of his neck. “That must be a long way down” Aladdin nodded and looked on. “Let’s keep going”

I was still looking down along with Sora and Goofy. I know there were caverns down there that had some valuable items we needed to get our hands on. Though, the bad question was how to

“Jeez, I wonder if there’s something down there…” Aladdin turned and his eyes widen when he saw another Fat Bandit. “Guys!” We turned only for our eyes to widen. “Oh shit…” Sora swore quietly.

The Fat Bandit fireball was coming right us but Goofy quickly pulled his shield. Only problem, it still caused us to fall. My eyes widen in fear. Am I going to die!? I thought as everything seemed to go slow. But here was the reality of things.

How many times had the series made these guys fall INCREDIBLE lengths but yet they survive? Sora already fell in Deep Jungle and I did too. But I got lucky and bounced off, softening my landing. This time, I knew it was going to hurt.

My arms flailed and spun, hearing mostly Goofy’s famous holler. Whatever was going to happen, I don’t want to see it. I shut my eyes, time seemingly disappearing.

\--------

_Wake up!_

Ugh…what? …What?

_Open your eyes! Or you’ll drown_

Bubbles escaped from my mouth and I flailed madly, searching for which direction was what. I gasped again, preventing the water from entering my throat when I looked up, seeing a faint light. That was the direction I needed to take. I kicked heavily, moving my arms with quick precision. Finally I broke into through the surface, gasping loudly for air. I brushed the wet hair off my face, inhaling deeply as I looked around. Where was Sora and Goofy??

“Ugh…” I touched my head, groaning loudly. Jeezes, my head hurts from that fall. “Hey! Michelle! Are you okay?” A voice called out. I looked over to my right seeing Sora and Goofy swimming over. I sighed in relief, rubbing my forehead. They were okay, thank god.

“Yeah! I’m okay, what about you guys??” I swam over to them. “Yeah, we’re okay.” Goofy reported.

“Aladdin and Donald are up there still but we told them we were okay” Sora exclaimed. I sat up and rubbed the back of my head. The voice….it woke me up. ‘Tch, if I end up hearing this voice like in the Maximum Ride series, I’m going to be pissed off’ I thought in annoyance.

“So how’d ya think we can get out of here?” Goofy questioned.

“Swimming of course” I answered.

Sora raised a brow and I swam over to a rock platform, picking myself up and stood up. I shook my head, letting the water drip from my arms. “There are caverns everywhere here, we’ll just have to look around and see which one leads to an exit” We all looked at the water then to each other, then to the dark rooms up ahead. I sweat dropped. Maybe my idea was going to be harder than I thought. I slipped back into the water, sighing and Sora began leading the way.

After twenty minutes of pointing, arguing, getting lost, wondering where the heck is what, we finally stopped to look around.

“Now where did we end up?” Sora asked. I dropped my head into the water in disappointment. “I thought we took a left before…?”

“We’re going in circles…” I gurgled while Goofy and Sora began thinking of which direction we had came from first.

Left, Right, Up, Down. I can’t tell where we’re going anymore. We’re stuck in a maze. ‘Did I really have this much trouble when I was playing the game?’ I thought when Sora began groaning, exclaiming how much he hated this place right now. I dropped my head again into the water and blew bubbles. I pulled my head from the water and looked at where we were now. It was silently dark but there was a lone pillar, uneveningly being supported. I tilted my head and stared at it.

“Hey Sora” He turned and looked at me. “Yeah?” I pointed towards the pillar, “Do you think we can reach that?”

Sora shrugged but then looked to a stone. A trinity mark was there and we glanced at each other.

**Five Minutes Later >>>>**

“Hold still Goofy!” I said loudly while trying to keep Sora still. Sora positioned himself. He took his keyblade out and threw it directly at the pillar. It smacked the uneven parts of the pillar causing them to fall into the water, creating waves that nearly knocked down Goofy.

Suddenly a new set of parts came and they all came down evenly, creating a straight pillar. The whole room seemed to shake slightly and the sound of something opening echoed. “I guess that did something” I exclaimed and threw Sora into the water.

“Blah!”

“Hey look! I see a stair case!” Goofy pointed out and I looked at where he was. I began smiling and lunged into the water. “C’mon slow pokes! We need to get to Aladdin and Donald quick!” I shouted and began swimming really fast.

Sora though, was already ahead of me. As I was swimming I saw something floating in the water. “Huh?” I picked it up and saw it was a paper. I scrunched my brow, looking at the parchment to find it had drawings all over it and a long paragraph following it. Wait, could this be a part of Pooh’s story book. I hummed and placed it inside of my shirt before continued swimming.

“You’re calling me the slow poke?” He joked when I reached over finally. I rolled my eyes.

When Goofy got to where we were, we ran up the stairs and saw we made it to the halls above. I fell on my knees, sighing loudly in relief. THANK EVERYTHING THAT WE’RE OUT OF THAT PLACE.

“Phew, I never thought we would get out,” Goofy said. I couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

“Sora, Michelle, Goofy!” I turned and saw Donald running over to us followed by Aladdin. “Hey! You guys are all right?” Aladdin asked us concerningly.

I smiled and gave a thumbs up. “We’re okay!” Aladdin let out a sigh in relief before he smiled at us. “C’mon then! Let’s go! An entrance opened up while we were looking for you. ”

Entering another room, this one in particular seemed brighter than the others. “Whoa…” Everyone excluded Aladdin murmured. We stared in awe at the treasures that were here. A pile the size of a hill was next to us, gold coins, rare jewels, priceless artifacts were scattered throughout here.

“Don’t touch anything here,” Aladdin warned us as we made our way through. Donald was staring a pile and got a glance from Goofy. “Donald….” Donald snickered and then turned serious when Aladdin and Sora was staring at him. But me, I’m a little cleverer. Placing the little sapphire, rubies, and a few gold coins in my back pocket, I smirked.

_I hope you know the consequences._

I rolled my eyes. Force of habit. I stole since I was little. I was always attracted to shiny things. Glass sculptures were usually the thing I took. Even if they were from the Gas Station.

But jewels? How can I not resist? I hit my head and growled in annoyance. “I have to start breaking habits!” I swore to myself.

_Like that’s going to happen anytime soon._

I clenched my teeth and glared at the air. Curse the voice and trying to bring me bad luck!

“Is she glaring at one of us…?” Donald whispered to Sora who shrugged.

“Ssh!” Aladdin held a finger to his mouth and the room became silent. From behind the door, there were sounds of someone on the other side. It had to be Jafar and Maleficent. We slowly came closer to the door and the muffles sounded clearer.

“Ready?” Aladdin whispered to us. We all nodded and readied ourselves with weapons. I tightened my fist and Aladdin opened the doors wide open. Inside the Lamp Chamber, probably the only room I remembered from Kingdom Hearts was Jafar, his back turned to us and an unconscious Jasmine.

“Jasmine!” Aladdin exclaimed and Jafar turned along with….Maleficent. She really was terrifying. Horns on her head, light green skin and her dark cloak made her even creepier and mysterious. Behind them and past Jasmine was the keyhole to this world.

“At last, you arrive” Jafar exclaimed loudly.

Sora wasn’t paying attention to Jafar though. He was looking at Maleficent.

“Wait a second. Are you Maleficent?” The witch turned, glancing to all of us then disappeared with a word. “Hey!” Sora glared at where she once stood.

“Jafar! Let Jasmine go!” Aladdin shouted and Jafar merely scoff a laugh. “Not a chance. You see she’s a princess—”

“Here we go again with ‘she’s a princess’ you’re a street rat’” Sora murmured but Jafar turned to the keyhole.

“One of seven who somehow hold the key to opening the door” Jafar exclaimed. I looked to Sora who looked to me and Donald and Goofy.

“Open?” Goofy began and Donald finished for him “the door?”

Jafar stared at the keyhole before turning back to us, a devious smile on his face. “But you fools won’t live to see what lies beyond it.” Jafar then pulled out Genie’s lamp and rubbed it. “Genie! My second wish. Crush them!” I gasped along with the others. A trail of smoke came from the lamp and Genie appeared. “Genie! No!” Aladdin yelled but Genie sighed sadly.

“Sorry Al, the one with the lamp calls the shots” His head hanging low he muttered “I don’t have a choice…” I looked quickly at the door and saw a shield being placed up from between the door and the keyhole. No where to escape… SHIT! DAMN THOSE INVISIBLE WALLS!

Jafar began floating in the air causing me to raise my head. “Hasa-Kabukabara" he pointed his golden specter towards Aladdin and fired a beam of electricity. “Watch out!” Aladdin jumped out the way while we quickly took a side step.

I stared up back and saw Genie moving closer to us. “Um sorry. Run!” Genie apologized. “GUYS RUN!” I shouted and they actually listened quickly. Genie brought his hand down very quickly but was relieved when he saw that he didn’t hit us. I glared at Jafar then Sora looked to us. “We got to stop Jafar! That’s the only way we could stop Genie too!” Sora exclaimed and I nodded.

“So let’s do it!” Donald shouted and I nodded. “Let’s do this!” I joined in and Goofy eyes widen. “Would you mind—” I felt very nervous at where I was standing just now. “Genie’s behind me…isn’t he?” They nodded.

“Um Run!” I quickly dodged roll before Genie manage to actually get me. “Genie! Try to fight it!” I yelled. Genie shook his head. “Like I said before I can’t. Sorry…” My fist tightened before I turned seeing Aladdin trying to take care of Jafar.

“Take that!” Jafar shot another beam at Aladdin. He pulled his sword and managed to block it but lose his footing for a second. “Fire!” Jafar turned only to move swiftly in the air. Donald glared at Jafar and got his staff ready.

“You okay Aladdin?” Sora asked when he went over to him. Aladdin nodded. “Let’s do this!” I jumped on one of the raised area and watched while Jafar kept going around the room, constantly avoiding Donald’s fury of magic attacks.

“We need to attack him directly,” I murmured. Jafar was one of the harder bosses but I remembered all I did was practically press a bunch of buttons and beat the crap out of him. I tightened the grip on my keyblade and glared towards Jafar direction. “TAKE THIS!” I shouted, darting my attention to Jafar and whirled the keyblade.

It spun in fully rotation, heading straight towards Jafar who didn’t even notice it coming. When he finally did, it smashed right into his face and I grinned. “Yes!” Genie gleamed but got the death glare of Jafar. “I mean— boo!” Genie said sarcastically. I caught the keyblade but saw Jafar pointing his specter at me. “Take this you brat!”

“I AM NOT A BRAT!” I shouted only to get knocked down, barely avoiding getting hit by his laser.

I groaned and saw Aladdin hovering over me, glaring towards Jafar’s direction. “Are you all right?” He asked quickly and I nodded.

“Thanks Aladdin!”

“I owed you one” He reminded, and I beamed. Returning Sora had jumped up into the air and had managed to hit some direct hits on Jafar but eventually was hit by the beam.

“Cure!” I shouted and the green glow went around Sora. He sat up and nodded. “Thanks!”

Jafar was on a raised area as he began chanting "Saram-Kasabumkaras."

Where have I heard him—my eyes widen in realization and I gasped. “Guys! Get away from the middle of the room!” I shouted and only Goofy was there. Ice was beginning to form, he was about to use that annoying blizzard storm move!

“I’m really sorry about this!” Genie then smacked Goofy away from the middle but a potion landed near Goofy which he grabbed quickly.

“Huh?” I blinked in surprise. He was still trying to help us even if he’s injuring us! Awesome! A full blizzard storm was raging on and I covered my face. FINALLY! IT WAS COLD!

I grinned and pulled my keyblade to my side. I began running towards the raised area Jafar was on. He didn’t even notice me when I jumped on. “Bye-Bye!” I slammed the back of Jafar’s back and sent him into the middle of the storm.

“ADVANTAGE!” I hollered in victory. I’m from the north so take that! I can withstand the cold!! EVEN THOUGH I MIGHT HAVE A MINOR CHANCE OF FROSTBITE ON MY ARMS.

“Please move!” I turned only to get knocked back by Genie, rolling onto the sand roughly. I groaned roughly, rubbing my head when I found a bottle rolling to a stop right by my feet. Genie, I swear, you’re a saint. I grabbed it and placed it into my pocket. “Just in case”

Aladdin and Sora were practically kicking Jafar’s ass by the time Genie tried ‘hitting’ them away. That’s when Jafar turned to a little, purple ball of light and began floating around.

“THUNDER!” The bolt of lightning missed the moving target and Donald stomped around. “THUNDER! THUNDER!”

“Donald! He doesn’t get hit when he’s like that!” I warned him but he kept firing off thunder spells. “Watch out!” We all separated again and I landed near Aladdin and Goofy.

“When he turns back to his regular self, let’s get him!” Aladdin exclaimed and I nodded. “That’s the plan!” The light went swirling around the room till it finally stopped and Jafar returned. “NOW”

Sora and I jumped in the air and Aladdin knocked Jafar into the middle. “THUNDER!” A bolt of lightning struck down on Jafar and temporarily paralyzed him.

“Fire! Fire! Fire!” I kept shooting fire spells while Goofy, Aladdin, and Sora were taking care of Jafar. I grabbed my keyblade in a backwards fashion and threw it directly at Jafar. Jafar got mad. He finally shot another beam of electricity and it hit Aladdin and Donald. Donald twitched on the ground and I realized he was really injured.

“Donald, here!” I tossed the potion and he somehow caught it and drank it all. “Thanks!” I looked back at Jafar and sighed. This was getting annoying. How can we beat him? Beating the crap out of him can’t be the only way…

Aladdin manage to get back up. Sora was attacking Jafar again with Goofy’s help and Donald was curing himself since the potion could help only so much.

_Strike him along with the boy! That will finish him._

What?

_Just do it!_

I glowered at the ground and murmured “Jeez, such a commanding voice much…?” Sora got knocked down by Jafar who swung his staff that lit on fire. “Ow!” Sora patted his jacket before it could catch on fire. I ran over to him and said “Sora! Let’s get Jafar together!” He looked up at me and nodded before standing up. “Goofy! Distract Jafar!” I said and Goofy gave a thumb up.

With Goofy distracting Jafar, he’ll stay in one place. “Take this!” Jafar pointed his specter at him and the beam hit Goofy’s shield and it actually backfired at Jafar. “Now!” Sora and I jumped into the air and sliced at Jafar.

“GAHHH!” Jafar yelled in agony as darkness began to overcome him and suddenly he disappeared. Poof! Thin air, just like that. We landed in the middle of the room and looked up. “He’s gone” Sora pointed out.

“Yes!” I cheered and began jumping up and down. “We did it!”

Genie looked around the room curiously but seemed over all relieved. “Jasmine!” Aladdin rushed over to Jasmine who was still in the same place as before. I rushed over to him and looked at Jasmine. “Do you think she’s okay?” He asked me and I nodded. “She’s fine, just unconscious but she’s fine” I told Aladdin. Aladdin looked relieved and sat down.

“GENIE! My final wish!”

Everyone looked into the middle of the room, seeing Jafar. WHAT THE HELL!? I’ve seen this part plenty of times but how the hell does Jafar disappear just for a few seconds then come back, floating with the lamp in his hand!?

Aladdin and Sora stared at him in shock, Donald and Goofy shock and horror, and me, well shock, disbelief, annoyed, you know, how you usually feel when you beat a boss then find out you have to fight the boss again who’s now stronger then before.

“I want you to make me an ALL-POWERFUL GENIE!” Jafar shouted. “Oh no, crap, crap,” I muttered and hit my head.

Genie covered his eyes and shakily held a finger towards Jafar. A beam of magic hit Jafar and he began taking the power while manically laughing. The floor below collapsed under him and he went down. I ran to the edge along with Sora and Aladdin and my eyes widen. A HUGE cavern was down there, full of lava and Jafar, waiting for the next fight.

“Isn’t it convenient that every time we fight some crazy guy, there’s always a good place to fight?” I question to Donald who peered over the edge. He gulped, nodding gently. “Oh man! Al!” Genie flew over to us and we all backed away momentarily and he shook his arms.

“Hey, no worries, he used up all three of his wishes! I’m not under that boso’s control anymore” Genie informed and I settled my keyblade down.

“Genie, is there anyway we can beat him?” Aladdin asked and Genie nodded vigorously. He then put a hand to close to his face and said something really quietly. We all leaned forward, raising a brow. “Huh?”

“GET THE LAMP! SINCE HE’S A GENIE HE CAN BE CONTAINED WITHIN THE LAMP!” Genie exclaimed loudly. I jumped back, rubbing my ears. I looked down and to my amazement, a lamp was made, but Iago had it.

“IAGO HAS IT!” I shouted and Donald and Goofy looked down. “He does!” Donald shouted. “So all we need to do is get the lamp from Iago, beat a NOW STRONGER Jafar who’s a genie, and then seal up the keyhole…” I listed and Sora put his hands behind his head.

“Yup!”

I smiled with a shake of my head and looked back to him, “I love how optimistic you are”

“C’mon guys! Let’s go!” Aladdin then jumped into the huge hole followed by Sora and Donald. I looked back at Jasmine, my expression suddenly turning sad. Riku was coming. He ends up taking Jasmine. I sighed in frustration. Do I really want to end up changing this part!?

“Michelle? You okay?” Goofy asked me concerningly. I looked at him and forced a smile.

“Yeah, just had to think about something” I exclaimed. Goofy smiled. He was so nice. He made anyone smile for real. I looked back once more at Jasmine and mouthed “I’m sorry” I turned along with Goofy and jumped off the ledge. This was one thing I wouldn’t be able to change. Riku was strong and I knew that. It took me forever to beat him the first time in the game, imagine fighting him for real?

I landed on the ground and looked around. My heart was pounding against my chest and I tightened my grip on the handle. It was hot. The heat coming from the lava was excruciating. Everyone had there weapons in hand as they cautiously looked around. Sweat trailed down my face and I could only imagine we had a certain amount of time to fight before we would be toast. Suddenly, flames erupted from the lava and out came Jafar as a GIANT RED GENIE. He laughed manically, admiring his new strength.

My eyes widen along with Sora’s. “Oh shit…” Great, now we’re fighting Jafar as a genie. Like he wasn’t hard enough BEFORE! “The lamp! Get Jafar’s lamp!” Aladdin’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked up seeing Iago flying by, carrying a black lamp like Genie’s.

“Get that bird!” I yelled angrily. “Uh oh!” Iago said trying to flap his wings harder to move faster. “COME BACK HERE!” I shouted and began going after him. One good thing about me that I’ll always remember, when you have something I need, I WILL get it.

No matter what.

When I felt the platforms shake a bit and saw Jafar holding a gigantic molten rock, I began to wonder. Why doesn’t that end up killing the characters? Then I remembered, this is a Disney game and that would suck if you died like that.

“Take this!” Jafar tossed the rock and it crashed to the platform behind us, nearly missing us. “That was huge!” Donald cried in horror. Goofy looked at his hat that was burning at top and blew it out before putting it back on his head.

“Michelle! Donald! Goofy! Take care of Iago while Sora and I deal with Jafar!” Aladdin shouted to us. I nodded and continued running. You don’t have to tell me twice!

Jumping down to a moving platform that rise up then back down, Iago was trying to rest on a far off platform. “Heh heh” Iago panted and sat on the ground. I slammed my hand on the platform and looked up, freaking out Iago.

“UH OH!” Iago grabbed the lamp by the handle and began flying again but I pointed the keyblade at it. “Not so fast! THUNDER!” Lightning strike the bird, causing Iago to yell in pain and fall to the ground, twitching from the electricity.

I grabbed the lamp and ran over to Goofy and Donald who was close by. “You got the lamp?!” Donald asked in amazement. I nodded and held the lamp in front of me. “How do you think we can stop Jafar with it!?” I asked curiously. Suddenly my hands felt hot, almost like I put my hands in burning oil.

“Fuck!” I cried out, releasing the lamp. I seethed, gripping my palms and releasing, trying to endure the pain. I opened my eyes half way and saw my hands were bright red and looked inflamed. “What the—” I paused when I felt more pain coming from my hands.

Goofy gasped while Donald examined the lamp. He hit it with his wand and a light bounced off the lamp causing Donald to jump in shock and yelp. “It’s being protected by magic!” Donald exclaimed. “Mine!” Iago swoop down, grabbed the handle and began flying off. “HEY! GET BACK HERE!” I hissed in annoyance but the pain from my hands was painful. “Cure!”

My hands glowed green and I began to notice that they were healing up. From a third degree burn to a first, not bad in my opinion. “Thank you Donald” Donald smiled before turning serious and looking at the direction Iago was heading.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay??” Goofy asked quickly before I shook my head. I pulled bandages from my pocket and wrapped my palms quickly. I summoned my keyblade back to my right hand and gripped the handle. I could still feel the pain but it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t hold things. “I’ll be fine for now, let’s get Iago right now!” I told them.

“Let’s go!” Donald and Goofy began running after Iago. “Iago! You’re going to get it!”

I passed Sora and Aladdin who both jumped to the air, avoiding Jafar’s hand swipe, trying to smack them away.

“BLIZZARD!” Sora yelled and the icy spell hit Jafar, annoying him. “Sora! Yell Blizzadra! That’s a better ice spell!” I yelled at him while running.

“Huh?”

“Just trust me!” I jumped on the platform and looked at Sora. “Blizzadra!” A larger ice spell shot out from the blade and hit Jafar, causing him to get even more annoyed.

I snickered and continued on running. Iago was moving more slowly, breathing in and out like he’s been working out for hours. “Oh jeez…I can’t keep up with this” Iago gasped and began descending to the floor. Iago dropped the lamp near him and panted.

“Heh Heh, I can’t take this job” Iago dropped on his back and began breathing in and out loudly when Goofy appeared. He threw his shield knocking the lamp away and Donald began shouting “Fire! Blizzadra! Thunder!”

I appeared beside his side and slammed the keyblade down at it. It repelled it sometimes but it was still doing some kind of damage. “OH! OH!” Iago began flapping his wings and was about to go for the lamp but Goofy held his shield up and Iago smashed right into it.

“Owie”

I slammed down the keyblade into it but this thing had a lot of magic protecting it. “Take this!” I heard a loud yell and turned seeing Jafar throwing another boulder at us. “DONALD! GOOFY! DUCK!” Donald glared at me once again but I pulled him down to the floor.

The rock crashed behind us, knocking us away due to the impact. “Ugh” I stood up, my head spinning and was trying to regain my stance. “Okay, where’s Iago now!?” Goofy looked around then saw him flying in the opposite direction we were at.

“Over there!” I turned slightly, seeing Iago from the corner of my eye. I’m going to kill Iago when I get a chance to. I swear to it. We ran over and continued to chase after the bird. The cycle repeated a lot of times, we managed to get the lamp, tried breaking the shield, then Iago manages to get it and fly off away from us.

I was getting sick and tired of it. I played this part many times and I swear it wasn’t this hard. But I had to face reality, my reality I was in right now. Iago isn’t going to simply roll over and let us break the lamp. It would mean Jafar losing and him ending up being sucked into the lamp!

But right now, I didn’t care what happened to Iago. I cared about the lamp and defeating Jafar. Goofy launched his shield and Iago dodged it for a third time, my fist tightened into a ball and I shut my eyes in anger. “OH NO YOU DON’T!” My eyes flew open and I began yelling “Thunder! Thunder! Thunder!”

The lightning struck the areas Iago was flying but with some yelps and quick maneuvering, he managed to dodge them all. “HAHA!” He teased and stuck his tongue out. That’s when Lady Luck came on our side. With Iago mocking us, he didn’t notice the wall.

Splat.

His wings twitched on the wall as he slowly leaned backwards. The lamp dropped from his claws and landed with a clack on the ground. I smiled widely and began running there with Donald and Goofy after me. I stuck my tongue out towards Iago before proceeding on breaking the infernal lamp. I heaved the keyblade over my head and smashed the head down upon it several times. In the meantime I glanced towards Sora and Aladdin, noticing they were still attacking but mostly jumping around and trying to dodge Jafar’s attacks. So far, there distraction was working!

“Michelle! Focus!” Whoops. I gritted my teeth, looking down at the lamp to see damage was being dealt to it. It still wasn’t enough though. I slammed down the keyblade repeatedly, hoping something would happen. Soon with a hard enough slam, a crack appeared. “Donald! Start using your magic!” Donald nodded and began casting multiple spells.

“Uh oh!” Goofy pointed towards Jafar and saw he was holding another giant boulder. “He’s not aiming at us, is he??” I questioned. Jafar’s attention turned towards us and I paled, backing away from the lamp. “DUCK”

I threw myself to the side with Donald and Goofy following quickly, the boulder barely missing us and smashing against the wall behind us. I heard the platform shake violently, knowing the rock hit something. I looked up seeing Aladdin and Sora getting up, panting heavily.

“Cure!” Donald shouted while I grabbed a potion from my pocket. I have to save my magic. “Sora! Catch!” I shouted and tossed the bottle. He caught it and nodded before facing his attention back at Jafar. He quickly popped open the cork and chugged it.

I looked back to the lamp, seeing that it was still intact and ready to be slammed more. You know, this was like a weird version of Whack the Mole. Though this version should be called ‘Whack the Lamp and Try Not to get killed by the Big Red Genie!’

“MIIINNE!” I saw Iago was about to swoop for the lamp again but Goofy held up his shield and BAM. “Ow” Iago fell on the ground and I grinned. “That’s what you get for trying to keep stealing what we need” I said and turned back to the lamp.

With a deep breathe; I slapped the keyblade down on the lamp. The shield began electrocuting and I heard Jafar yell. My eyes widen and I watched as the shield that once protected the lamp began to slowly crumble away.

I grabbed the lamp and held it. My hands didn’t burn or worse, catch on fire. The lamp was perfectly fine!

“Give me the lamp!” I heard Jafar yell and I turned seeing him appear close by. Oh shit…I’m not doing this. “SORA!” I yelled and tossed him the lamp.

Sora jumped up and caught it. He turned to Jafar and held it up. “Okay Jafar! Back to your lamp!” A magic like tornado began sucking Jafar, forcibly pulling him towards the lamp. “NOOO!” Jafar yelled his arms trying to grab to anything.

“I’m out of here!” Iago was about to go but his tail feathers got grabbed by Jafar. “No! No!” Iago yells were muffled out when the vortex took them both and they went into the lamp with a ding. I smiled and let out a sigh of relief.

“Phenomenal power, itty bitty living space” Aladdin joked when Sora handed him the lamp. “We did it!” Donald cheered and jumped up and down. I looked back up towards the Lamp Chamber. “Not yet, we still have to seal up the keyhole” I reminded.

“Oh yeah” Sora looked around and rubbed the back of his head. “And how do we get back up?” Luckily, carpet flew by and floated closely to the ground. “Nice timing Carpet” Aladdin said and got on. We followed and Carpet flew us up, back to where the keyhole was.

When we got there, everyone’s eyes widen, but Aladdin by far was worse. “Jasmine!” He began looking around while Donald asked “Where could she have gone!?” The tension grew when Sora looked at the keyhole. “The same ones who took Alice”

My eyes widen. I felt my stomach flip over. I felt guilty now. I should’ve stayed! Sora pointed the keyblade to the keyhole and it began to light up. The keyblade let a beam of light and it went into the keyhole, making a click noise and it lit up brightly.

The keyhole glowed brightly and the wall began to disappear appear; falling away like glittering sand till there was no more sign of the keyhole. “Whoa…” I turned and saw Aladdin still looking for Jasmine desperately. I was about to tell Aladdin that maybe she got away but the room began to shake.

“Huh!?” I looked up towards the ceiling seeing rocks beginning to fall and the lava in the mysterious area we fought Jafar in began to act up. “Whoa, we’d better get out of here!” Goofy said using his shield for cover if rocks started to fall. I nodded and Carpet came up. “Jasmine!”

“Aladdin! We have to get out of here!” Sora shouted. Aladdin was VERY reluctant to get on Carpet.

He ended up having to be forced on and restrained by Sora and Goofy. “JASMINE!” Aladdin shouted one more time while Carpet began going up in the air.

I looked forward; Aladdin’s voice is definitely going to be one I’ll remember for a while. It hurt that I knew who had Jasmine and I couldn’t tell him. But I had to get over it.

“Go Carpet!”

I gripped onto Carpet as we quickly swerved around falling rocks. Here’s our mission: SURVIVE FROM THE CAVE OF WONDERS!!! Me, Sora, and Aladdin (who had to be slapped a couple times by Genie to get him back to his senses) were trying to get us out of here alive.

“Okay, does anyone know exactly where we’re going!?” I asked, trying to hide the panic in my voice. That didn’t help at all. “No, but Carpet should know” Aladdin insisted. Carpet speed through the halls, even passing the collapsing treasure room. Donald and I looked over and our mouths dropped.

All the gold…was falling into the ground that was beginning to crack. It hurt just watching that all fall then I imaged us if we didn’t get out. That was even worse.

“WHOA!” We all ducked when a rock fell nearly above our heads. Abu began freaking out, clutching around Aladdin’s head. “Abu! Abu! This is no time to panic!” Aladdin grunted and took Abu off his head. My eyes widen along with the others when we came close to a wall that had no other option but down. Of course….

“Start panicking” Sora said and I grabbed Donald and Goofy for life. “AHHHH! THIS IS WORSE THEN ANY ROLLER COASTER!” I shrieked when we suddenly took a sharp turn down. I felt like I was beginning to lift off the carpet but I grabbed on. I wasn’t going to let go for anything in the world.

“WHOA!” Abu wrapped around Goofy as everyone screamed for the moment. Carpet suddenly pulled up and I looked back. Thank god no lava followed or this would be just like the movie. The only thing that made it the same was that this place was practically going to fall on us if we don’t make it out.

“This place is collapsing and really fast by this rate!” I shouted, hoping the others could hear me even though there were the sounds of rocks falling, Abu freaking out and other things. Abu jumped onto Donald who began shouting in annoyance.

“Come on Carpet!” Aladdin said and Carpet’s speed increased. Zipping through halls, I noticed flames were shooting up into the air. “WHOA!” I pulled Donald close when a flame shot near us. It only caused Donald’s tail to catch on fire.

He turned his head slightly and an anger mark appeared on his head. “OF COURSE!” He extinguished the flame with blizzard and I focused back on helping Sora and Aladdin guide Carpet out of here.

“We’re almost there, I see the exit!” Sora exclaimed. I looked forward and at the end, I did see the exit. Carpet was quickly maneuvering over obstacles. “C’mon Carpet,” I pleaded quietly. Carpet went at full speed and finally, we made it out the Cave of Wonders.

I looked back and saw the Cave of Wonders collapsed, the wind blowing around it and caused it to disappear under the desert once again. It was then quiet and Sora let out a sigh of relief. “Phew, that was close” He joked and Goofy nodded.

I let out a sigh and stared up at the night sky. “We made it” Donald let out a sigh of relief and Abu was lying on Carpet, breathing in and out hard. I looked down at the sand below and then to Aladdin who was holding the lamp in his hand.

He looked down sadly causing me to feel guilty again. Ugh! Now I feel worse!

I looked over to Sora and tapped his shoulder. He looked over to me and I went closer to him. “We should tell him when we get back to his house” I suggested to him quietly. Sora looked to Aladdin and nodded. “Yeah, he has a right to know”

_ [Later  _ in _Agrabah]_

“So Jasmine’s no longer in Agrabah?” Leaning against the wall, I nodded.

Aladdin sat on his steps and let out a slow sigh. We just finished telling him what probably had happened to Jasmine. And by mistake I kind of told him about the other worlds. It wasn’t incredibly bad, more of a break down that she was whisked away to the stars. After elaborating, Donald hit my head with his wand. Aladdin stared down at his floor while Genie was floating next to him.

“Sora, let’s go find her.” Aladdin declared and stood up from the steps. My eyes widen and I shot a glance at Sora, catching the returning glance from Donald. Sora looked down at his feet and shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t take you with me.” He said sadly. Aladdin’s eyes widen and he asked “Wh-Why not?”

I rubbed the back of my head and tried to think of something. “I sure wish we could…” Goofy began and Donald nodded in agreement. “But we can’t. If we take him to another world we would be—” Donald was cut off when Goofy began trying to say the word. “Muh…Mudd”

“Meddling” I finished sadly with both Goofy and Donald nodding. Aladdin let out a depressed sigh and sat right back down. Sora tightened his fist and let out a sigh. “Aladdin, we’ll find Jasmine. I promise.” Sora said and Aladdin nodded slightly. “But I want to do something to help you guys out…” Aladdin began causing Genie’s eyes to widen and he put an arm around Aladdin.

“Uh, earth to Al. Hello? You still have one wish let.” Genie pointed out and I blinked questionably. Shouldn’t Aladdin have two wishes since Jafar kind of ‘denied’ his second wish? “Look, just say the word. Ask me to find Jasmine for you!” Aladdin remained silently, looking down at his feet and the lamp that was clutched in his hands.

“I-I wish—” Sora and Donald looked intently at Aladdin and I gave a soft smile when Aladdin said loudly “I wish for your freedom Genie”

“Al!” Genie stared in total shock at Aladdin. A swirl of magic went around Genie and BAM! He gets legs! XD Apparently legs give you freedom! The cuffs on his hands also disappeared and he stared at Aladdin. Aladdin smiled softly when he stood up.

“A deal’s a deal, Genie. Now you can go anywhere you want. You’re your own master.” Aladdin said. He then turned and stared at all of us before turning to Genie again. “But if you can, it’d be great if you could go along with them and help them find Jasmine.”

Genie looked to Aladdin then back to us and we smiled brightly. He began making a humming sound and turned around, his back facing us and crossed his arms. “Sorry, Al. I’m done taking orders from others—But” Genie turned his head and smiled.

“A favor, not that’s entirely different. I guess I could give that a try” He exclaimed. He then went over to Aladdin and put an arm around him. “After all, we’re pals, right Al?” Aladdin looked down then back up to Genie. “Genie” Aladdin began but Genie smiled brightly and pointed at himself. “Just leave it to me!” Genie said determinedly causing Aladdin to smile as we did too. “Hey! Us too!”

“Here Sora, maybe this could help while you’re on your journey” Aladdin handed Sora a small keychain and Sora nodded in gratitude.

“Don’t worry Aladdin, we’ll find Jasmine!” I reassured brightly. I felt bad still. Now I’m going to make sure we save Jasmine and the other princesses! Aladdin smiled and pushed his hair back. “I’m counting on you guys!” We all nodded then left Aladdin’s house.

Heading back to the desert, Sora put his hands behind his head. “I still wonder how Jasmine disappeared…” He stated slowly and Donald shrugged. “Probably the lady from before!” Sora looked down at Donald and asked “Do you think that was Maleficent?”

“Yup” The two turned to me. Whoops, I had to say it.

“It had to be her, she seemed to fit the description Aerith told me” I exclaimed. Hey, that was the truth. She told me and Yuffie made a creepy picture of her! It brought me nightmares….And I thought I was bad at drawing. Sora looked back at Agrabah as the Gummi ship descended and I quickly jumped in. “AIR CONDITIONING! HOW I MISSED YOU SO!” I crawled against the ground, pressing my face down. It was so cold. So cooooollllld. Goofy jumped in and looked back at Sora.

“Sora, c’mon!” Donald shouted and Sora turned. He nodded and leaped inside. The Gummi ship lifted up into the air and shot back into space. I jumped around the room and went over to the counter in the kitchen. “So now Genie’s going to help us! All right!”

[Somewhere]

“That smarmy vizier could’ve had ‘em…if someone had struck around to give him a hand.” Hades exclaimed, turning his gaze to the teenager near him. Riku glared at him. “Hey, I did my part. I brought the princess, didn’t I?” Riku stated and pointed to an unconscious Jasmine on the ground.

“Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred.” Maleficent exclaimed. She then turned to Hades and quirked, “One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely.” He caught her gaze and waved his hand.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lighten up. I’m as cool as they come, okay?” Maleficent let out a small sigh when Hades turned to Riku. “By the way, kid, have we got something special for you” Riku raised a brow and looked at Maleficent questionably.

“We had a deal, yes? You help us, and we grant you your wish” Maleficent reminded, waving her hands over the stone table. A holographic imaged appeared and Riku’s eyes widen.

“Kairi!” Riku gasped and went over to the table. It was Kairi, in a sleep like state. “Go to her. Your vessel is waiting” Maleficent informed. Riku turned when he heard the sound of footsteps and saw someone else was walking to them. The figure turned out to be Captain Hook and looked at Riku sternly.

“Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It won’t be a pleasant voyage” He stated, showing his hooked left hand. Riku looked at him then to Hades then finally back to Maleficent. He stared at Maleficent with distrust.

“Why are you doing all this for me? What’s the catch?” Riku probed, very suspicious on why she was helping him.

Maleficent let out a small laugh and placed a hand on Riku’s shoulder. “Catch? What’s the catch? Silly boy. You’re like a son to me. I only want you to be happy.” Riku glanced at her before pushing her hand back and taking a few steps back.

“I seriously doubt that.” Riku stated and turned to follow Captain Hook. Maleficent frowned ever so lightly before it turned back to the unemotional expression she held before. “Believe what you wish. But les we forget, I kept my end of the bargain.” She reminded and Riku let the room without another word.

 


	13. Inside the Whale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter everyone! I'm probably going to upload a new chapter every week or so. Should be a sound idea :3 Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

“So tired… can’t sleep with Genie making noises” I muttered tiredly. It’s odd. I thought summonings don’t talk, but Genie’s talking up a storm, I don’t understand how he’s the only one getting through. Simba doesn’t talk to us unless we summon him, Dumbo doesn’t, why is Genie the only one that is able to???

Donald was getting so annoyed that he put on earplugs while Goofy seemed totally immune to Genie’s endless talking. Sora ended up falling asleep in his seat, so that left me to talk with Genie. I rubbed my temple, exhaling loudly. My fingers drummed impatiently along the arm rest as he went on and on about something that he had seen in the past 1,000 years. I couldn’t take this 2 hour conversation anymore!!!!

“GENIE!” I snapped and glared at my keyblade that was glowing slightly. “Sorry kid! Just excited you know! I’m finally free!” he yelled from the keyblade. I banged of the keyblade on the floor. “Ouch!”

“Yeah, we know but please I need sleep. When we start fighting then you can talk all you want!” I exclaimed loudly. “Oh alright then I’ll just talk to Sora” He retorted. The glow along the blade had faded and I sighed loudly in relief. FINALLY! Good luck Sora!

I stood up from the counter and walked to my room. Closing the door behind me, I sighed in relief and fell on my bed. I rubbed my head wearily, hoping that I would get a chance to sleep this time. Where was the next world? Eh…we couldn’t be so far away from it. We still have a lot of worlds to go to; I held up my hands and began counting off from my fingers.

“We still need to go to Halloween Town, Neverland, Atlantica, Olympus Coliseum, Monstro, Hallow Bastion, then—”

I gulped and stared at the palm of my left hand, the realization dawning on me. “The End of the World,” I murmured. A shiver came and I quickly grabbed my arms. Since we have to go back to Olympus Coliseum to seal the keyhole, there might be a possibility that we have to fight **_Him._**

“Don’t let me fight Sephiroth! PLEASE! I will die!” I squeaked and fell flat on my bed again.

That’s when my eyes widen. Just before this all started, I remembered fighting him in Kingdom Hearts 2. I played a new game of Kingdom Hearts just for the heck of it because I was getting annoyed of fighting him. Then my mom came into the room and told me to get the mail when my Play station 2 wasn’t working. I felt guilty still and now I was overcome by sadness as well. I felt like this was my fault. Did I do something to cause this all? I grabbed my pillow and placed it over my head before letting out a bunch of random, frustrating sighs and complaints. When I finished I stared up at my ceiling blankly.

“I swear— I’ll find you all” I murmured before I turned over and turned the light off in my room. “Please just be okay somewhere, safe and not the next world to get hit by the heartless” And then I closed my eyes and tried to find a way to go to sleep.

\--------------------------------------------

_Time to talk._

My eyes flew open and I saw my self floating. In total whiteness. I closed my eyes for a few seconds before opening them again I was still in the whiteness. I looked around in awe but at the same time I felt…slightly disturbed. ‘Am I dreaming this or something?’ I thought curious on how I got here or more importantly, WHY I was here. As I was thinking, I noticed I was beginning to feel lightheaded and noticed I was upside down. In midair. Yeah…this makes perfect sense.

“Okay…I’m definitely dreaming” I murmured and tried flipping myself only to end up doing a somersault. I let out an annoyed sigh and tried again when I managed to get straight. I looked around and crossed my arms. “Okay, so what’s suppose to happen…?” I asked irritably.

N _ot as patient as you once were it seems._

I looked around till I saw a ball of light floating towards me. It was glowing light blue so I was able to see it in this room. Suddenly it began glowing brightly and I shield my eyes. When the bright light faded, I lowered my eyes to see…HER!?

“YOU!” I shakily pointed a finger at the girl before me. Her black hair was the same, green eyes, same everything!! THE HELL!? IT’S HER! FROM THE DREAM I HAD BEFORE I ENDED UP IN TRAVERSE TOWN!?! Don’t tell me she’s the little annoying voice!!! AND SHE’S A BALL OF LIGHT!?! I continued pointing at her while she stared at me, un-amused.

_Pointing isn’t polite_

Her mouth didn’t move but yet again, I heard her. How does she do that!? I rolled my eyes and let out an annoyed sigh, letting my arms fall to my sides. “Not the best dream I’ve had…” She smirked and pushed back her hair.

_So I’m seeing that you’re not enjoying this?_

“Enjoying what? The white room of nothingness!” I asked and noticed I was beginning to turn upside down. Not again!! A snap echoed the room, catching my attention and suddenly the room turned dark.

“Whoa, um, what are you do—”Gravity began working again and I landed on my back. “UGH! I cried and groaned in pain. How many times have I fallen on this poor back!? I’m surprised I haven’t broken any bones.

I glared at the girl who landed gracefully on the ground. I rubbed my back and asked “What do you want?” She rolled her eyes and waved her hand above her head. The scenery above her head began to change and white lights began to form above us. My eyes widen and I gapped in amazement.

She—she changed the area to…home.

I was now sitting on a grass hill that was in the park and she stood a few feet away from me. What…What!? I abruptly stood up and checked in every direction. There was no way! This was exactly it!! I felt overwhelmed with happiness and fell on my knees. I let my self sit down and decided to take a quick glance at the girl. She did this for me, but why. Oh great, here comes the sense of distrust.

 _Now that that’s settled. Please listen._ She put a hand to her chest and looked at me. _Your world is gone. You obviously know this by now, correct?_

I nodded, sadden by the fact that I’m standing in the park of my ‘apparent’ destroyed world. This place; it had seemed so real, I almost forgot that I was dreaming. “Yeah, I know that. Kinda the reason I’m traveling with Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the first place” I exclaimed with a slight laugh. She, however, didn’t find it funny.

_You must find your friends._

Excuse me?

I stared deadpanned at her. Was she being serious? I started laughing a little causing her to raise a brow. I was slightly waiting for her to ask me ‘Hey! What are you laughing at’ but with that look she gave me, enough said. “I’m sort of in the middle of doing that already” I told her but she didn’t take that for an answer.

_You have to find them, soon!_

I blinked. I rubbed the back of my neck and looked down at the ground. Every time I stare into her eyes, it feels weird. It’s like she’s looking straight at my soul or something. I’m already feeling nervous about being in the same place as she is!! And imagine this is MY dream. “Heh, you sound like you want me to rush this all” I then caught her gaze. She was being serious. Like….that’s what she wanted.

_Yes, that’s exactly what I want you to do. You do not belong here._

I gapped at her. How does she expect ME to get to 5 more worlds, find my friends, and most importantly SURVIVE!? “Huh!?”

_This all was never suppose to happen. You weren’t suppose to be here; neither should your friends, Frances and Jazmine._

That struck a nerve. I glared at the ground. WHAT THE HELL!? Is she saying I was suppose to die with my world? And how does she know Frances and Jazmine!? My head was pounding with questions and I felt so….angry. Angry and confused, not a good combination. “Who are you?” I demanded loudly. She seemed so familiar to me but yet I know I never met her. A smile came to her face and she looked up.

_I do not have an identity, I take on what appears to you from memories._

I raised a brow, tilting my head. “I don’t know anyone who looks like this,” I remarked. She nodded gently.

_You don’t, but another does_

……Okay, that didn’t….clear anything. I leaned my right arm on my knee and pressed forward. “Why are you doing this and what do you know about my friends!?” I asked her and she looked over at me. She looked alertly around before looking back at me.

_Your friends are in other worlds. I only know that one is in Hollow Bastion._

One of them is in Hallow Bastion!? YES! Wait!? Which one!? A faint smile appeared on my face but it wasn’t enough for her to see. “All right! Thank you! Now I could tell Sora—”

_Do not get attached to these people._

Her glance turned harsh and I fell back in surprise. Attached to these people!? Wait, is she talking about Sora and the others!? I got up and held both hands up. I let one ball up into a fist while the other stayed straight and firm in front of me.

She scoffed and pushed her hair back.

_Still ignorant. Let’s see how you act like when you make your decision_

I relaxed my stance, my shoulders dropped and my eyes widen. “Decision? What decision!?” I asked then grabbed my head. My head was throbbing in pain and confusion. Why is she doing this to me!? The figure remained silent and waved her hand around. The scenery began to darken and I looked up in shock. The hills began to fade into the darkness and the stars in the sky flickered out.

_Remember Michelle, you’re not from their world. You can’t hope to be a part of it._

Her body began to fade in the dark and I reached my hand out for her. “WHAT DO YOU WANT!?” Soon, I was left alone in this dark forbidden place.

_I need to restore order. Wake up._

“HUH!” I jolted up and sweat came down the sides of my face. I breathed in and out deeply. What…what just happened!? “Was that all a dream?” I looked at my desk then to the doorway, hearing loud noises, most notable, Donald. He and Sora were probably having another fight on driving the Gummi ship most likely. I placed a hand on my forehead and let out an annoyed sigh. “Yup, a weird dream…”

‘WILL YOU TEACH ONE OF US!?” Looking back at the slightly ajar door, I decided to get up and check on the guys before they do something rash. Going about with a quick shower, I changed into the new clothes, having cleaned them of sand with a quick slap against the door. I walked out my room seeing Donald and Sora, standing next to the driver’s seat on opposite sides.

“C’mon Donald. Please” Sora pleaded, clapping his hands together.

“No!”

“Please!”

“No!” I smiled and walked into the room. “Sora, if you drive we’re dead” I joked causing Sora to turn to me with disbelief. “What’s that suppose to mean?” He asked dejectedly. He seemed sad that I didn’t have that much faith in him. Well, after what happened with getting to Traverse Town, I don’t have faith in anyone’s driving except Goofy.

I waved my hand and said “Oh nothing, nothing. Come on feather head, let him try” I said and turned my attention to Donald. Donald glared and repeated “No!” I frowned and put my hands on my hips. “And why not? Is it because of what happened the last time?” I asked.

Donald shook his head while Sora glared at him. “That was only because you wouldn’t land!”

“It’s not about that!” Donald defended but I pressed on. “So why won’t you let Sora try again? You gave me a chance, why not him” Donald let out a weird quack noise when he crossed his arms and his face began turning red. “One, two, three”

Sora and I shared glances when I whispered to him, “Is he counting numbers?”

“Donald why don’t you let him? I mean, what could happen?” Goofy questioned his friend. Donald thought about it, and regretted immediately. The vivid image of the Gummi ship exploding in space was enough of a reason for him not to let either of the teens drive.

He shook his head, but they needed to know just in case if Donald needed to suddenly get on the shooting area and shoot down some heartless ships. A very hard decision indeed. “Alright” Donald mumbled, barely loud enough for anyone to hear.

“Huh?” Sora and I leaned in and waited for Donald’s response. “All right!” Donald shouted. AHHHH!! MY EARDRUMS! THERE BLEEDING!

“Sora, you got this” I offered and sat down beside Goofy, watching the monitoring stuff. Sora grinned brightly and took the seat.

For the next hour, Donald was yelling, showing Sora how to drive, Goofy giving some useful pointers, and me, well I was blasting heartless ships with Donald when he stopped teaching Sora for that moment and decided to help me out.

“Okay, so you think he got the hang of it?” I asked Donald when he leaped off the seat. He looked back at Sora and shook his head. “We haven’t crashed yet.”

I snickered loudly, shaking my head as I noticed how ruffled Donald’s feather were. Positive much. In my opinion, Sora was doing great! So far we hadn’t crashed into anything and I wasn’t having flashbacks of the last flying experience! So far so good!

I hummed positively, my eyes drawn on the radar to see if any heartless ships were approaching us or near our vicinity to attack. When I saw the coast was clear, I leaned back in the chair sighing loudly.

“Sora, I gotta ask, when were you born?” I questioned out loud. Sora turned slightly in his seat, raising a borwf but Donald barked for him to keep his eyes ahead. Sora’s shoulders slumped and he groaned. “Okay, why do you want to know?”

“J-Just wondering,” I stuttered, twiddling my fingers together, whistling gently. This was a question I wanted to know, exactly how old is Sora. I knew he was 14 but I wanted to know how much older I was then him. I needed to know.

“Well I was—” The ship rocked back and forth, knocking me and Donald out of our seats, skidding against the ground. I groaned, sitting up and looking around.

“What was that??” Goofy asked. I got up and returned back to the monitors. It was making all sorts of noise and showed a very large red dot that passed the Gummi ship. It began turning and my eyes widen, waving my hand wildly.

“Sora turn the ship right! Turn it right!” I ordered. I had to grip onto the monitor for dear life, feeling the ship taking a sharp turn to the right. Donald was sliding across the ground with Goofy making an attempt to grab him. Unfortunately Goofy ended up joining him along for the slide. I groaned with Jiminy joining me, grabbing onto my vest pocket.

“Whoa, what was that?” Jiminy asked, jumping onto my shoulder now. I shook my head when suddenly the ship rocked again. This time, we saw what it was. My eyes widen and my jaw dropped.

“Was that a—a whale!?” Sora shouted and I rushed to look out the window. It was a giant whale all right. I’m not sure how the heck a giant whale was even alive in the midst of space in the first place!!!

“It’s Monstro!” Jiminy screeched. “That seems like the perfect name for this whale” I said shakily. “He’s a whale of a whale, and vicious besides!” Jiminy’s eyes widen and he clutched his journal tightly. “HE COULD SWALLOW THIS SHIP UP WHOLE!”

It then became silent on the ship. Everyone eyes were wide open and alert. Sora and Donald were sharing glances while it was the same for me and Goofy. When we saw the whale begin to turn around, we knew it was heading for us. Then, Donald finally broke the ice.

“SORA! GET US OUT OF HERE!” Sora shook slightly and I immediately grabbed hold of the steering wheel. I wildly turned the ship to the right so we avoid getting smashed into the whale. I slammed Sora’s shoulders down and forced him to seat upon the chair.

“DRIVE” Donald tried helping Sora as much as he could with the driving but the whale kept circling us.

Then the whale went over us again but much closer, causing the ship to shake violently. Everyone smashed into each other or something. I groaned sitting up from the ground, using the chair to help me up. I then ran up to the window to see where the whale was. “Where did it go!?” I wondered worriedly. “Who cares!? Let’s get out of here while we still can” Donald said taking the wheel.

He moved the wheel but nothing happened. He then made a second attempt by pulling with all his strength causing him to put his feet on the wheel as he pulled, but he soon lost grip and crashed into Sora who was getting up. “What happened?!” Donald yelled. Goofy got up and looked behind him. We looked to where Goofy was to see a button reading “Do Not Touch! Auto Shut Down”

My eye twitched as Goofy chuckled nervously. I gripped my bangs, groaning loudly. HE WOULD TOUCH THE ONE BUTTON I WAS TRYNG TO AVOID. “Who would put that on a ship?!” I shouted and shook Sora who was sadly the closest thing near me. Donald was glaring at Goofy as he said “If we die it’s your fault” Goofy gulped. “Brace for impact!” I yelled as Monstro came super close.

The whole ship shook violently as it smashed into something hard. “Yaaaaaaa-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!!” I heard Goofy holler as the ship spun. It crashed into something making everyone fall out of it. I hit the floor or whatever it was and blacked out.

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My body was aching in pain. I felt pain everywhere, especially in my head and arms. I managed to open my eyes but I swear I saw green.

My vision was really blurry as I sat up but I could still see green. “Ugh, my head” I blinked a few times, trying to adjust my vision so I could see again but that was pretty hard. “Michelle!” My eyes widen when I could see clearly again. I was in a field that looked over a town nearby. I sat in total bewilderment. Wasn’t I in the gummi ship that was about to be eaten by a WHALE!?

Three girls were running around, with bags on their shoulders and looks that screamed “WE’RE SO LATE!”

_This was three days before that day._

I looked around cautiously, unable to understand how this was happening. It was that girl, you know, I’m going to call her Hoshi now. I think she wants to see me suffer, probably wants to see me snap. Oooh nooo! I’m not going that low!

Looking over at the three girls, I knew exactly who they were. Me, Frances, and Jazmine.

“Can’t you just call Melissa?” Frances demanded

“I already did! She’s mad that we didn’t take her and she says my mom is coming!”

“Oh jeez!” One of the girls began to slow down causing the others to stop.

“Frances, come on. I don’t want to get in trouble again!” Said the one with brown hair that was tied up into a tight ponytail. Frances sat down and panted, a few strains of her brown hair falling over her glasses. “Give me a minute! I’m not a runner Jazmine!” Frances complained and Jazmine sighed in annoyance. “I’m not either!”

I’m going to flip when I see ‘Hoshi’ again. She’s messing around with my head but what is she going to accomplish from this!? I looked at myself, seeing that she was snickering catching Jazmine’s attention. “And what are you laughing at?” Jazmine demanded and Michelle turned slightly. “Yet you were on track” “THAT WAS THE FIFTH GRADE!”

“Still means that you did a sport” Jazmine huffed and crossed her arms. Frances smiled and laid on her back. “I wish something would happen here” She murmured catching the other girl’s attentions. They nodded and looked up at the sky.

“I wanna travel to a different world” Jazmine cried loudly and Frances jumped up. “I wanna have an awesome time too! Oh, but I don’t wanna die” Frances added sheepishly but Michelle smiled. “If we have the ultimate adventure I wouldn’t mind being the hero of the story” Jazmine and Frances stared at her deadpanned before laughing out loud.

“WHAT’S SO FUNNY!?”

“What happens if we want that same dream?” Jazmine mused challengingly causing Michelle to smirk. She waved her finger and smiled. “Then let’s see who can become a hero first” Jazmine and Frances nodded before all three girls high fived each other.

“DEAL”

I forced to close my eyes and held them shut. Why was I seeing this!?

“Come on” I muttered quietly, “Stop showing me these memories!” I growled then stopped to look up, finding the girls run past me. When I looked at myself, I stopped and my eyes widen. A scar ran along from her cheek to her jaw as she smiled widely. Wait…that…that’s not me. I suddenly felt light headed and I noticed the area was growing dark. I darted my attention around, sighing then shut my eyes.

“HEY!” I snapped my eyes and found myself in a place entirely different. The ‘floor’ under me was slimy and felt weird to be lying on. I quickly got up and looked around. My jaw dropped. Oh Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas, I think we’re in a whale. Oh the horror.

“We’re in Monstro….” I cried and shook myself, finding my arms drenched in something. “Ew! Saliva!” I wiped my arms quickly, grimacing at the sight. I stood up wiping my pants then looked ahead. These…was not something I would imagine being in a whale. Ship wreck remains were buried along the mouth and it seemed an entire ship was still intact. I groaned, shaking my head and began heading forward.

Maybe I could find the ship or the others. Making my way over some wooden planks, I could hear a commotion rolling nearby. Following the noise, I was lead towards the far end of the mouth, thankfully finding two familiar faces. Donald and Goofy, looking up at something—no wait at someone.

“You guys are okay! How long have I’ve been out?” I asked loudly causing Goofy to turn. “Oh, Michelle! You’re okay!” Goofy greeted. I smiled gently, waving slightly

“You’ve been out for 5 minutes, we’re not sure if Sora’s up yet,” Donald replied, not really paying attention to me. He was impatiently tapping his feet against the ground while he looked up. I walked over to them and looked curiously at the ground. Three little boxes were on the ground so I decided to pick one up and open it.

“A potion?” I grabbed the blue bottle and placed it in my bag, quickly moving forward to start opening the other boxes. Suddenly another little box fell and made a loud clank against Goofy’s shield. Donald huffed loudly, jumping once.

“Knock it off!” Donald shouted.

“Are you okay? You got us pretty worried” Goofy asked and I smiled. “Yeah—but is Donald?” I asked and pointed to him. Another box had bounced off Donald’s head at that moment and Donald growled loudly, shouting incoherent words at this point.

“Ouch!” I winced, slowly grabbing hold of the box that had hit him. No shame in taking what is now ours. I looked up to see a little kid throwing another box out a chest. I squinted my eyes, trying to see who it was. “Ooh, well that hurt” I looked on my shoulder and saw Jiminy jump from my hood.

“Are you okay, Jiminy?” I asked and he shakily nodded. “That was some crash,” He commented and adjusted his hat. I nodded in agreement and turned around, double checking our surrounding. The coast seemed clear—wait!

“Sora!” I let out a sigh of relief and placed a hand on my chest. “Sora! You’re okay!” I exclaimed and he turned his attention over to me and smiled. He walked over to us and immediately his attention was directed onto Donald.

“What are you guys doing? Where are we anyways?” Sora asked. I pointed up in response. “There’s some kid up there and he’s throwing random objects down” I said. Just as I said that a box almost hit Sora unless he’d jumped back.

“Uh, ya know, I think that big ol’ whale Monstro just swallowed us.” Goofy answered and I nodded.

“How do you think we can get out?” I asked. Everyone shrugged. “We got to think of a way” Donald said. Another box landed on the ground and I hid under Goofy’s shield. “And for today’s weather expect showers,” Goofy’s shield got hit again creating a ringing noise and I moved from under the shield. “Heavy showers with a slight chance of hail” I cringed and held my head in pain. That was loud!

“Hey!” Donald snapped loudly and the kid throwing the objects stopped. “Who’s there?

The kid looked to us and smiled. And I gasped. Pinocchio!? Wait!? What!?

“It’s me!” Donald looked slightly relief and began slowly saying “Oh, it’s just Pinocchio” Suddenly all three guys jumped in surprise and all shouted “PINOCCHIO!?” I raised a brow of concern seeing there freaked out faces.

“Pinocchio?” Jiminy shouted and waved for him. “You guys know him?” I asked curiously. Sora nodded. “We meet him when you got kidnapped by Yuffie” Sora exclaimed causing me to drop my head. I never knew they meet him before getting in Monstro! And I wasn’t even there!?

Pinocchio picked up something and started to walk off while Jiminy began yelling “Pinocch, where are you going? Pinocch!” Jiminy looked over to all of us and said “Come on, everybody! After him! Quick!” I nodded cautiously. Deal with the weird liquid your about to swim in. I continued thinking that over and over as I swam behind the guys. We reached over to stairs that led up to a boat that was still kind of intact.

“Father, with this, we’ll be able to get out of here” Pinocchio held up the block to a rather elderly man. He adjusted his glasses, leaning forward to fully examine the Gummi-Block.

“Really? With this block? You think so?”

“It’s true!” Sora said when he reached over the side of the boat. “So, how did you end up here, Pinocchio?” Sora asked when we all reached on to the boat. Pinocchio adverted his attention to a man beside him. Hey! Geppetto!

“Oh my!” Geppetto walked over to us, looking at each of us. “So the whale swallowed all of you too? My goodness” Sora nodded and said “Yeah looks like it”

“So how do you know Pinocchio?” I decided to ask. He looked back at Pinocchio was had his arms behind his back and was swaying back and forth ever so quietly. “Well my name is Geppetto. I’m Pinocchio’s father.” He exclaimed and I raised a brow of interest.

“When we got separated, I traveled all over, looking for him. Thank goodness we’re together again.” Geppetto picked up the large piece of gummi while saying “So, you seem to know Pinocchio quite well. I hope he was a good boy in my absence.”

Sora and Donald shared glances to Jiminy who jumped up. “You could say that” Geppetto noticed Jiminy and smiled.

“Well, we’ve all had quite a journey.” Placing the gummi away Geppetto got up. “Right Pinocchio? Pinocchio?” I suddenly looked around noticing Pinocchio was no where to be found. “Huh!?” I ran to the edge of the boat and looked to—my horror. Pinocchio was walking further into the whale, the maze.

“He must’ve wondered off again. I tell him it’s too dangerous” Geppetto said worriedly. Donald crossed his arms.

“Well he couldn’t have gone far so let’s go” Donald said. “He went in there!” I pointed out and the others came to my side. “Oh dear, that area is dangerous” Geppetto looked to us and said “Please get Pinocchio back safely”

Sora nodded and Jiminy did too. “Let’s go” Sora said and we all jumped down.

Entering the area I saw Pinocchio walk in, I knew we were in a load full of trouble. So much is going to happen here! Oh please make this go quick.

“This is a messed up whale” I joked looking around. Then we noticed Pinocchio, hiding in between the next room and this room. “What are you doing? Come on, let’s go back.” Sora said. Pinocchio didn’t budge causing me to raise a brow. Why did he come here in the first place? Did he see Riku and decided to follow him.

“You know, Geppetto’s awfully worried about you.” Goofy added but Pinocchio didn’t budge. Sora frowned which was a rare sight. “Pinocchio, stop fooling around! This is no time for games!” Sora said suddenly. Whoa, I never heard Sora sound…mad. I watched in amusement but then saw Pinocchio’s expression sadden. Sora, Donald, and Goofy turned making me look back at them.

Were they seriously going to leave him?!

“But Sora, I thought you liked games.” That caught everyone’s attention. I turned my head seeing Riku in front of Pinocchio. He was staring straight at a shocked Sora and smirked coolly. “Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the keyblade”

I gasped quietly. How and more importantly WHEN did he get here!? “Riku! Wh-what are you doing here!?” Sora asked bewilderedly. His eyes were really wide open and his mouth was open slightly in confusion. Riku smirked.

“Just playing with Pinocchio” Riku answered. I glared at him. Oh here comes my chance to beat the crap out of him.

“You know what I mean! What about Kairi? Did you find her?” Sora asked. Riku eyes lowered slightly to Pinocchio then to all of us. He grabbed Pinocchio’s arm and said “Maybe. Catch us and maybe I’ll tell you what I know” Then he ran in the tunnel with Sora yelling “RIKU!” He looked back at us. “Come on” Sora, Donald, and Goofy raced after the two while I tried keeping up.

“Where could they have gone!?” Donald asked Sora. “There are too many tunnels to even think” I exclaimed loudly. My head was spinning. We went into three tunnels and somehow ended up in the first place where we meet Riku.

“Well let’s just keep looking we’ll find them eventually” Sora said. I looked over to Sora worriedly. He looked really frustrated and irritated probably from Riku. And this maze isn’t helping! “Where could those two have went?” Jiminy questioned concerningly. I shrugged and looked around. So many tunnels, exits, heartless, decisions!!! I can only wonder what Sora’s going through.

“We’ll find them Sora” I said quietly. He looked over to me and showed a small smile. It’s at least something I could say. After fighting another group of heartless in a tunnel I deemed number 5 (I began making marks to show what tunnel we might’ve been too) I noticed something.

We were in some place new. The only place I actually recognized in here! Tears were practically streaming down my face in joy when I realized where we were! “Guys! I think I know where we have to go!” I cheered and began sprinting down a tunnel. I skidded to a stop when I finally saw Pinocchio who jumped in shock. “FINALLY!” I shouted and let out a tired sigh. “Seems your pretty quick on your feet”

My eyes widen. I didn’t want to lift my head up but I did anyway. Big mistake. I saw Riku entering the room and glanced at me. “You’re the girl from Traverse Town” Riku calmly said causing me to tense. I’m not trusting him for one second! “Yeah, so what?” I demanded. “You’re traveling with an idiot you realize this right?”

He struck a nerve. My fist tightened and I glared at him. “You’re calling your friend an idiot!? He’s been looking for both you and Kairi!” He scoffed only making me madder. “He’s just showing off that keyblade of his, he doesn’t care about Kairi” Riku said. Why does this guy tick me off so much!?

Finally, Sora, Donald, Goofy ran in and saw us three. Riku turned his head seeing Pinocchio run behind him while I glared at him even more. “Riku!” Sora ran to my side and glanced to where Pinocchio ran off into and then to Riku. “What’s the matter with you? What are you thinking?” Sora asked.

“Don’t you realize what you’re doing?” Riku looked at him. “I was about to ask you the same thing, Sora” Riku said. Sora stiffened and looked at Riku confusingly. “You only seem interested in running around, and showing off that keyblade these days. Do you even want to save Kairi?” Riku asked.

“I do” Sora said. Sora seemed so confused it got me mad. I glared at Riku. “AHHH!” Then Pinocchio yelled getting everyone’s attention. “Pinocchio!” Jiminy shouted and I looked down the tunnel. “Oh damn!” I groaned and ran into the tunnel. Reaching the end, I saw Pinocchio stuck in a heartless. I swung my keyblade out and looked behind me and saw Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku reach in.

“Help!” Pinocchio shouted. “Don’t worry Pinocchio! We’ll get you out of there!” I said loudly. He nodded shakily. Okay this was the Parasite Cage! “You up for this?” Riku asked Sora. Did he suddenly have a weird change of heart?

Sora took out his Jungle King Keyblade and nodded. “Hold on Pinocchio! We’re coming!” Jiminy shouted and everyone took there weapons out. Looking to both Riku and Sora I grinned mentally.

_This may be the only time when we all fight in the same place. On the same side._

CHHAAARRRRGE!!

Sora and Riku were literally the first to charge into battle as they both tried to get Pinocchio. “Thunder!” Donald casted but the lightning didn’t affect it greatly. “Donald, don’t use any stronger spell, you may end up hitting Pinocchio” I warned him. “Help” Pinocchio continuously shouted.

Ahhh, good old Pinocchio…the only thing you can do is scream like a little girl. But hey, I’m being hypocrite, I bet any ordinary person who be screaming as well. I jumped up and blocked its tentacle like arm that tried knocking me back. I swung at the cage.

WHAT WAS THIS THING MADE OF!? It was like metal for petesakes! It wouldn’t break open! I suddenly felt something smack my back causing me to fall. Looking up, I saw one of the arms about to crash down on me but I managed to roll out the way. “That was close!” I joked.

Jumping out the way when it tried hitting me I saw Riku and Sora being both knocked down. I let out an angry annoyed sigh. “Cure! Cure!” I shouted. Oh Riku better be lucky if I don’t end up punching him across the face. Goofy tossed his shield, hitting the heartless in the face giving Donald the time to cast “FIRE!”

I jumped up and slammed the keyblade against the cage. “Help!” Pinocchio cried and I looked at him. “Don’t worry Pinocchio! We’re going to get you out!” I promised to him. “Look out!” He pointed behind me and I turned. An arm smashed into me causing me to get knocked back into the wall. Ow…

I slid down and fell on the ground. I groaned and used my keyblade to get up. I turned seeing Riku do a back flip close to me. He turned his head to me and smirked. “Don’t give up” He said and charged to the Parasite Cage again. Now, I can’t tell if that was suppose to be a compliment or he was mocking me.

“Fire!” The spell smashed into the head. “Don’t think I’m out of the fight yet!” I growled and cracked my right fist. “Thun—” Donald was knocked back, hitting the wall. “Ughhh” Falling flat on the ground, I let out a sigh. “Cure!”

“Cure!” I said helping Donald. Goofy tossed his shield at the cage hitting it.

He caught the shield and blocked an attack from the arm. Riku attacked the head again hitting it with some powerful stuff. Sora and Riku then attacked it at the same time, hitting it with a final blow. Seriously? It wasn’t that much of a battle. Everyone watched as the Parasite Cage backed up and grabbed the ceiling/ or whatever it was. “What the?” I murmured when I saw it opened the mouth. “AHHH!” Pinocchio cried out and fell into the hole that opened up.

“Pinocchio!” We all shouted the loudest was Jiminy surprisingly.  

Riku went after him, jumping into the hole, much to Sora’s surprise. “Hey!” I ran up to the hole and looked down.

“Shall we follow?” I asked when the others reached me. They nodded and we all jumped. Why was this whale so weird!? It had so many holes and heartless! What did this thing eat!?

Looking down, I notice where we were going to land. The ship? Landing back on the ship, I examined around. “Huh?” Donald said looking around. “How did we make it back here?” I asked. Its official, if I were to have a choice to come here again, I will never.

“Pinocchio! Pinocchio!”

We all turned seeing Geppetto standing near the plank of the ship. Looking higher up, we saw Riku holding an unconscious Pinocchio. Jiminy gasped and appeared back on my shoulder. “Please! Give me back my son!” Geppetto pleaded. Riku shook his head and smirked. “Sorry old man, I have some unfinished business with this puppet” Riku denied

“He’s no puppet! He’s my son!” Geppetto shouted back angrily. “He is unusual. Not many puppets have hearts. I’m not sure, but maybe he can help someone who’s lost theirs.”

“Wait a minute. Are you talking about Kairi?” Sora interrupted. Riku gave him a dirty look before turning. “What do you care about her?” Riku demanded, walking off. Sora eyes widen and I knew he went too far. Okay, that’s it! I snapped my attention to him after stomping my foot on the ground.

“He cares every single bit about Kairi!” I yelled. He kept walking causing me to try calm down. I scoffed angrily at the side, crossing my arms and exhaled roughly.

“Jerk” I finally said.

“Riku…..” Sora muttered, his head hanging low. Donald seemed just as angry as I was. “Oh come on Sora! Don’t let him get to ya!” Goofy said in an attempt to try to cheer him up. Sora didn’t respond but I looked at him.

“Sora, from everything I heard you telling me about Kairi—Riku didn’t have any right in saying what he said. I know you want to save Kairi! That’s all talk about!” I placed a hand on his shoulder and sternly looked at him. “I have an older brother that acts A LOT like him. You just gotta ignore him!”

“Yeah! We know you want to save Kairi!” Donald reassured Sora. He looked at us all and a small smile reappeared on his face. “Thanks guys” He looked over to where Riku had left then to Geppetto. Geppetto turned to us and clapped his hands together. “Please get my son back; he’s all I have left”

Sora nodded while I noticed Donald walked over to a chest nearby, tapping his wand against it and peered inside to find whatever he had found. I turned towards the plank and then to Sora. ‘Let’s find them!” I encouraged and Sora nodded. Jumping from the plank, we made it and followed to the lungs. I looked up high and wondered how the heck were we going to get up there.

Heartless began appearing and we had to fight our way up. “Hey Michelle?” I lifted my head and made an ‘hmm’ noise. “About Riku…” Sora trailed off. Why was he asking ME about HIM? If I could say something—whoops, going a little too far with the whole Riku concept.

“Sora, don’t worry about Riku—” I reassured him and pulled myself up to a small platform. I relaxed then looked down seeing Sora coming up and Donald and Goofy weren’t far behind. “From what I seen, Riku may be an idiot but he means well. He’s tying to find Kairi too but….” Stop talking, stop talking! Don’t reveal any secrets!

“But…?” Sora pressed on while I continued saying “But…”

“But that’s it!” I finished and stood up. With a quick hand, I got Donald up and looked up. “So that’s where Riku and Pinocchio are?” I wondered and Jiminy came to my shoulder. “Let’s hurry and go before something else happens!” Jiminy rushed.

I nodded and followed after Sora. He seemed determined to see Riku again. He probably had a bunch of questions to ask him about Kairi. We reached inside the stomach, seeing Riku in front of Pinocchio. Pinocchio’s eyes were closed and he didn’t move at all. “Hey, let Pinocchio go Riku!” Sora demanded causing Riku turn to us.

“A puppet that’s lost its heart to the heartless…..Maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi. How about it, Sora?” Riku asked. Sora remained unfazed as Riku continued. “Let’s join forces to save her. We can do it together” Riku said.

Sora looked down at his feet before looking back at him. He took out his keyblade and held it. Riku eyes widen in shock as he demanded angrily. “What? You’d rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?”

“Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience” Sora retorted. “Conscience” Jiminy ran up to Pinocchio as Sora continued on “You might not hear it, but right now it’s loud and clear. And it’s telling me you’re on the wrong side!” Sora said. AMEN! XD I took out my keyblade and held it up as Donald and Goofy did at the same time.

“Then you leave me no choice.” Riku said.

“Pinocchio! Pinocchio!” Jiminy said going to him. Pinocchio’s eyes half opened and he looked at Jiminy. “Jiminy…..I’m not gonna make it” He said dropping his head. But then a light came from his nose, and it grew longer. He lifted his head up and looked at his nose before smiling brightly. “Oh! I guess I’m okay” Jiminy began jumping up and down in joy. Riku looked at them then at us. He held a hand out like he was about to get his weapon but he looked up.

Suddenly the Parasite Cage reappeared, blocking us from Riku. “Riku!” Sora shouted but I could see Riku disappeared through a dark portal. “Pinocchio! Get out of here!” I told him. He nodded, grabbing Jiminy and ran past us.

“You ready?” I asked Sora who nodded.

Slamming its arms against the ground, it lifted it self up and swung at us. “Fira!” Donald called out. A larger flame came from his wand and hit the heartless. It moved back and slammed its arm but I blocked it. Sora jumped up and blocked an arm and I rushed past him slamming the keyblade down on the head.

My eyes widen when I realized I didn’t hit the head! The arm was blocking it and pushed me off! “What the!” I managed to land on my feet and glared at the heartless. It’s stronger than before, that’s for sure. Damn! Why do my feet feel like there….! My eyes widen and I jumped up and down before running over to Goofy. “HOT! HOT! HOT!”

I looked down to see my sneakers had burned slightly at the bottom. “It’s acid!” Goofy shouted when a rock fell and began burning. My eyes widen and I looked around. We’re surrounded by acid and I’m the one that usually goes running around the field! How the hell am I going to survive this one?!

“Blizzard!” Donald spell hit the heartless and with a combination of Sora’s help, the heartless opened its mouth, revealing a large black orb. My eyes widen. That what we need to hit! Goofy threw his shield at it; but the heartless didn’t move!

“That’s it weakness guys! That orb!” I shouted and everyone charged to hit it. Sora and I were doing most of the damage while Goofy hit the head, hopefully keeping it down. “Whoa! Watch out!” Donald cried when the heartless managed to recover.

It slammed its hands into the acid and it was beginning to suck it up. “What’s it doing?” Sora thought out loud though I pulled his arm. “I suggest we move” I told him lightly. We both looked when it finally removed its hands from the liquid and breathed out a chemical like substances.

“Watch out!” Sora jumped to a ledge though I didn’t make it as easy. I ended up stepping on the acid but quickly casted cure on myself. “Ow, ow!” I moaned and looked down at my sneakers. Now I understand why most of the cast of Final Fantasy were boots! Sneakers don’t work well with acid!

I looked down seeing Goofy throwing his shield at the heartless. The heartless brought his hand up and knocked the shield away. “So how do we suppose to be this!?” I asked Sora who was casting cure on a knocked out Donald. He closed his eyes causing me to raise a brow.

This is not the time to sleep…

_He’s thinking_

…..I knew that.

Sora opened his eyes and held out his keyblade. “Fira!” A large flame shot out and collided with the heartless, causing it momentary turn to Sora. “What are you doing!?” I shouted after the heartless had struck where Sora was standing. He jumped back in front of it and began blocking and attempting to hit the heartless.

“Attack it with that move you used in Agrabah!” Sora yelled as he ducked under a swinging arm. Wait! What move…!?

I gasped and smiled. That Zack Fair move? I grinned and stood up. “All right! Let’s do it!” I held out my Lurebreaker and waited. If I was going to do this, I’d have to wait for the heartless to open its mouth again and let me hit that pretty little orb! In the meantime, I decided to heal the group.

“Cure! Cure! Cure!”

I panted, looking at the three, I wondered, how much longer is this fight going to take?

_Why don’t you just use the move now?_

I rolled my eyes. “Obviously somebody doesn’t play enough video games” I murmured quietly.

_You’d be surprise on what I seen._

I shook her voice out of my head and focused back on the fight. “Fira!” I shouted. The flame hit the heartless causing it to screech in pain and lean back, revealing the black orb.

I smirked and grabbed the keyblade with both hands and jumped up above the Parasite Cage. “Vital Slash!” I slashed across the heartless; a feeling of electricity ran through me causing everything to seem clear as day. I heard the heartless let out an anguish cry causing me to turn.

“And that’s how you do it!” I cheered as Goofy and Sora came to my side. A bright light emerged from the heartless and a giant heart floated out of it. Suddenly the room began shaking, nearly causing me to fall. I looked around noticing stuff falling from up above. “What the heck!?” I cried and jumped backwards, avoiding a piece of wood. Wait, wood?

“Run!” Donald yelled hightailing out of here. (Practically screaming like a little girl and running out of there) I quickly followed but stopped when I saw Sora frantically looking around. “Riku! Riku, where are you?” “Sora! Come on!” I yelled, grabbing his wrist. Sora didn’t budge causing me to groan.

“Riku’s gone, he’s not here—” I told him softly and let go of his wrist. “But we’ll find him, I promise” Sora looked back at the field then nodded. “Let’s go!” Sora ran past me while I frowned. “DON’T LEAVE ME HERE BY MYSELF!” I cried out, running after Goofy who was next to leave.

Running through the whale, we reached out the lungs and saw Geppetto reunited with Pinocchio. “What’s going on?” Jiminy asked. “He’s about to sneeze!” Geppetto said causing everyone to gasp. “WHAT?!”

“Get back to your ship before he blows” Geppetto told Sora but I shook my head. “But what about you and Pinocchio?” I asked worriedly. Seriously!? I know they escaped but HOW?

“Don’t worry. We’ll be okay” Geppetto reassured me, keeping a bright smile on his face. I glanced to Sora who looked to me before nodding. “Alright. Let’s go!” I shouted and began running with Goofy and Donald. Jiminy looked at Geppetto then to Pinocchio. “Don’t worry Jiminy, I’ll be okay too!” Pinocchio told his conscious. Jiminy smiled and jumped onto Sora’s shoulder.

“Let’s hurry!”

“It’s gonna sneeze!” I yelled running back into the Gummi ship. Somehow Donald found it under some wood and Goofy and I had to throw off most of the wood.

“Ah! Take your seats!” Donald yelled. “I’m driving this time!” I yelled taking the wheel. “Oh come on Michelle!!” I glared at Sora and Donald who stopped talking when they saw my glare.

“You already got to drive Sora so forget it!” I growled and looked down at the controls. Donald, Sora, and Goofy took their seats as I pushed buttons. I felt the ship rock slightly and Jiminy jumped onto Sora’s shoulder. “He’s going to blow!” He informed and I took a deep breath in. Well! If we were going to die, at least I had a chance to drive the gummi ship.

“Hang on tight!” I yelled.

Suddenly a giant gush of air started blowing against the ship and the mouth opened. I took the chance and launched the Gummi ship into space. “WAHH!” I wanted to scream since this felt like a roller coaster—possibly worse. My head was pressed against the seat and I looked at where I was going. Goofy had it mostly under control but I had made most of the moves.

Suddenly silence was all there was. I cracked one eye open and gasped. I started laughing nervously and slouched on the chair. “We did it” I said in relief. Sora jumped out of his chair and looked out the window. “All right!” I placed a hand over my chest, feeling it rise up and down fast. That was a rush.

“I sure hope Pinocchio and Geppetto are okay.” Goofy commented, flying the ship while I was still in shell shock. “Yeah, hopefully they landed somewhere safe” Donald added. Sora finally calmed down and sat down, his eyes looking down on his knees.

“Riku...” Sora murmured loudly causing Donald to turn his head. “It’s alright Sora. I bet he made it” Donald said.

He put on a smile and then decided to change the subject “So now where do we go”

“I say we keep going forward!” I exclaimed and turned the ship slightly. “I’m afraid if we go back, Monstro will be there waiting for us…” I trailed off, creating an eerie feeling in the cabin. Bwahahaha!

After an hour, I actually got the hang of driving. Sure, there was a bunch of buttons that caused me to get a little confused but it’s mainly, keep straight ahead and dodge heartless ships.

“This is pretty easy once you get use to it” I exclaimed, keeping that locked arms as I drove. Goofy had questioned why I was like this and I simply shrugged. I guess my body is still a bit tense to the idea of driving. I’m sure I’ll loosen up….at some point.

Everything was back to normal with Goofy still driving and making jokes, Sora and Donald doing some weird competition in the back; though I didn’t see what they were doing it seemed like Donald would get mad whenever Sora said something.

_Remember, do not get attached._

My eyes narrowed to my legs and I let out an annoyed sigh. “You know what, shut up”


	14. This is Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All right, so i'm posting up this and next week chapters a little early. My girlfriend is coming all the way from California to visit so I'll probably be spending all my time with her *obnoxious squeal in the background* So I hope you all enjoy the chapters, I apologize for any awkward sentences and such. Have a good week everyone!

After aimless hours of driving, having driven far from the place where Monstro could ever find us, I was beginning to grow tired. Looking down at the radar, there really wasn’t much to worry about. No heartless ships, no crazy argument with Donald or Sora, it might’ve been a peaceful ride.

_I can hear you, I hope you realize this._

I dropped my head in utter disappointment, digging my nails into my legs. Yet no matter what I could hope for, it would not silence that voice! MY GOD!

“Shut up!” Clamping a hand over my mouth automatically and I froze. I shouted out loud, now these two were probably looking at me, crap. Turning my head slightly, I saw Sora and Donald staring at me with a bewildered looks, raising a brow in concern. Goofy had ended up falling asleep, his hat over his eyes while he snored loudly. I relaxed my heightened shoulders and let out an embarrassed smile.

“What happened?” Donald demanded curiously causing me to panic. “Sorry, I um—”

Looking over my shoulder, I looked at the radar for anything helpful. Remarkably, the radar was blinking wildly. A smile came to my face, rushing over and I saw a new world coming our way. YAY! I’m saved, that was way too close.

“There’s a new world!” I told them causing Sora to turn. “All right!” Donald pushed Goofy shouting, “Wake up Goofy! We’re at a new world!” The sleep bubble popped and Goofy sleepily opened his eyes.

“Hiya Donald! Good morning!” Goofy greeted.

“Come Goofy! We’re at a new world!” Walking over to Sora, I looked out the window at the new world. Halloween Town! Automatically I could tell from the creepy vibe that place was sending!

“It seems pretty creepy…” Sora murmured and I looked at him.

“Nervous?” I snickered but Sora shook his head. “Nah! I like horror stuff” I deadpanned. How come I’m the one that can get easily terrified? Oh boy…this is going to be a nightmare. Literally.

“Hey Donald, what are you looking at?” Sora piped up, jumping over to the duck reading a large book.

“What is that?” I thought out loud. Goofy fixed his hat and looked at the book. “Oh that’s Donald’s book of spells! When we’re a tight situation, he usually uses some spell from it” Goofy explained causing me to raise a brow. Interesting, good to know for later on.

“Looks like we’re going to need to blend in more for this world” Goofy guessed when Donald shut his book causing a loud thump. “Okay! Get ready guys!” My eyes widen when Donald waved his wand. It lit up the open area and I could only shield my eyes momentarily. Once I saw the light fade away, I blinked wearily and found ourselves in an entirely new environment. Looking up I saw the gummi ship leave the world, disappearing in a flick of light.

“This sure is a spooky place” Goofy said. Looking around, I had bad feeling we had willing gotten ourselves stuck in a horror movie. It was eerily dark and the lights barely worked, creating an even creepier effect. Pumpkin heads were scattered around, carvings of terrifying faces on them with candle lights showing what they looked like. Something cackled in the distant and I stood closely to Goofy, unable to handle. “I’ll bet the people here are scary-lookin’ too” He added.

“Well you do too. If they scare us, we’ll scare them right back!” Donald said proudly.

That’s when I realized the costume change. Donald looked like a mummy, noticeably missing his entire waist. Goofy was a weird Zombie/Frankenstein thing, one eye normal, the other a swirl of red craziness. Looking over to Sora, I noticed he was poking at his new fanged tooth since he was now a vampire in this world. A pumpkin mask covered his left eye while he wore a darker version of his outfit with his adorable bat wings.

“You think so?” Goofy asked.

“Yeah the way Donald looks is _really_ going to scare people” I commented sarcastically. It seems Donald thought I was complementing him, smiling wildly. Goofy and Sora chuckled while Goofy rubbed the back of his head, darting his attention towards Sora and I.

“Wow, Sora and Michelle look pretty scary” Goofy acknowledged. I had to admit, Sora did look….’scary’. I particularly liked Halloween Town in the first game. I prefer this world over most of the others beside Agrabah and Neverland.

Looking down at myself, I gasped silently and placed a hand over my mouth. I was wearing a dark kimono looking outfit, the sleeves and bottom of the pants shredded. I blinked worriedly and I looked to my back seeing these freaky wings. They were long and opened against my back, a very similar fashion to what I can only describe was that creepy Shinigami Ryuk.

I grimaced, running fingers along the wings, feeling their leather like texture. What the hell!?

“Whoa that’s just not naturally” I said poking it. Touching my hair, I felt as if was pulled into a high ponytail. I then touched my face feeling scars on them. Yeah…I think that’s pretty scary all right. Man! I wish I could use this for Halloween!

“Let’s go look around” Sora suggested after silence we were in. Giving a nod, Donald and Goofy began walking but I was still focusing on my wings. “Come on! Close up!” I growled in annoyance. The wings suddenly adjusted and folded against my back, much to my amusement. I didn’t say anything and ran to catch up with the others.

Entering the town, it was just as bad as the entrance. Dark and mysterious, there was a well in the middle of the town, a gargoyle statue above it, its mouth oozing out a green liquid. Behind that there was even a guillotine! These shrieked and hollered in frightening laughs and noises. It was clear to say that Donald, Goofy and I were the ones pretty freaked out with this place. Sora however….

“Whoa…” Sora looked around, seemingly unfazed by all the darkness. Suddenly a small explosion caused us to look towards a house where smoke was coming from. Suddenly, the ‘unexpected’ came as the doors popped open.

“Heartless!?” I demanded when a bunch of Search Ghost appeared. We all took our weapons out (I had a problem finding mine only to find out I had a sheaf holding it) when we noticed they weren’t attacking.

“Hey, they aren’t moving…” Donald murmured suspiciously to us. Sora nodded. “I wonder why…?”

“And now, allow me to introduce the master of terror, the king of nightmares—” Turning around, looking at the man with the microphone, wearing a mayor’s outfit. I noticed and finally remembered why the heartless weren’t attacking. ‘Oh right…’

“Jack Skellington!” The Mayor finished, as on cue, the heartless moved away from the fountain and Jack Skellington came out in a stylish manner.

“Bravo, Jack! Bravo!” The man congratulated him as Jack looked down at the mayor. “Those ghosts will be a big hit at this year’s Halloween!” He said. “Hey, you think maybe there the reason why they aren’t attacking?” Sora questioned while I gave a small nod. “Let’s listen”

“Thank you, Thank you. But their movement still needs work. It’s not scary enough. “Jack admitted hanging his head a bit in disappointment. “I want to strike bone-chilling terror. I’m going to consult the doctor” He said walking off towards the direction of the house that was still smoking a bit.

The Mayor, looking back in forth, wiggling his fingers in excitement, “Then I’ll go attend to the decorations” he ran off in one direction, he then ended up going to the opposite direction. I hummed softly,

“Okay, that was interesting” I pointed out.

“I wonder why there using the heartless for” Sora said. “Well we heard that skeleton guy said he was going to some doctor’s place. Let’s follow. We may hear something” Donald said.

Looking towards the house Jack went to, I pointed towards the door. “He went that way so let’s go!” Sora opened the door and went in first, we followed. We went up the stairs and entered the other door.

“Hey, there talking, let’s listen in” Leaning against the door, we all listened in on how Jack wants the Heartless to work better. The Doctor, popping off his skull to scratch his brain (Goofy and Sora had to cover my mouth because I nearly shrieked and freaked out.) Clutching onto Sora’s arm tightly now, we continued to overhear as the Doctor told Jack he had almost all the necessary ingredients. However there was a problem, looks like the container he had was all locked up and he lost the key.

“So they need to unlock it?” Sora asked, Donald shutting the door quietly so we could discuss. We looked to each other and began to think out a plan. “Hey maybe we can unlock it,” Sora suggested.

“You’re really gonna unlock it for them?” Donald asked in disbelief. Sora shrugged and began smiling. “Why not? If they succeed, we won’t have to fight the Heartless, right? Besides I want to see the Heartless dance, too” He spun in a circle though Donald crossed his arms and stared at him annoyingly.

I shook my head and sweatdropped. “Of course” I said sarcastically. “I bet everyone wants to see heartless do the Samba or Waltz”

“What? Don’t you?” He asked, turning to me and looked over at Donald too. I shook my head and glanced to the floor. “Not really” Both Donald and I said. Sora frowned, but a smirk came to his face. “But this can be your chance to see if your keyblade unlocks things” Sora said causing me to perk my head up. “What?”

“Yeah! You never tried unlocking anything with your keyblade! Let’s try it out on that!” Sora exclaimed brightly.

“Oh come on Sora, she’s not actually going to—” “All right, I’ll do it” Donald jaw dropped while Sora punched the air in victory.

“You’re actually gonna do it?” Goofy asked. “Might as well. I need to know if it really does unlock things” I said boredly.

Going inside the lab, surprisingly Jack and the Doctor, Sora explained to them how we could help there problem. Taking out my keyblade, I held it up towards the keyhole lock. ‘Please open’ I begged and focused solely on the lock. A small light came from the keyblade making unlock sound in the keyhole. “Alright” I said quietly.

“My! That was amazing!” Jack complimented me while I rubbed my head nervously. He was tall….taller than Cloud. My god…“Uh and you are….” He asked causing me to snap out of my thought.

“Um Michelle? And these are my friends, Sora, Donald, and Goofy” I said pointing to each of them.

“Well done, Michelle! I’d like you all to be a part of this year’s Halloween.” He insisted causing me to smile nervously. What the heck does that mean!? “What’s this Heartless doing here?” Sora asked, getting Jack’s attention.

“Oh, the Heartless came to town just recently. What’s frustrating is I can’t get them to dance with me. So the doctor and I are trying to improve the guidance system.” He said. “A guidance system?” I repeated causing Jack to nod. The Doctor was reading a large book, wheeling slightly between the experiment that lay on the table and the book.

“He’s quiet a genius! Okay Doctor, let’s continue. The ingredients for a heart: Pulse, Emotion, Terror, Fear, Hope and Despair. Mix them all together, and we have a heart!” He said. The heart was beating up and down after watching them place each emotion into the contraption.

Doctor went to a switch and pulled it down. It started sending electricity to the Heartless; it started to stood up but then fell back down. “No! It’s a failure!” Doctor yelled and Jack was being dramatic about it. He went back to the book and looked at it. “Maybe we’re missing some ingredient. Let’s try adding memory.” He suggested brilliantly.

He then opened his head and scratched his brain. My eye twitched, this time I covered my own mouth as Donald almost quacked not for Sora closing his mouth. “Sally! Sally! Good-for-nothing girl! Don’t know why I bothered creating her! Sally’s got the memory we need. See if you could track her down.” He instructed Jack.

“No problem. Hey, would you guys like to come along?” Jack asked us and Sora immediately “Sure!” Donald glared at him while I sighed sadly. “Alrighty then let’s go. Sally should be near the graveyard” Jack said. But as he finished, there was a rather loud yell. “JACK! JACK! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!” Looking at each other, we left the lab and raced to see the Mayor freaking out

The Mayor, with a different look on his face, was running back and forth till he saw Jack. “Jack! Jack! We have a major crisis! The Heartless are completely out of control! We can’t stop them!” He exploded in a panicked tone.

Going down the stairs, Jack held a hang to his chin. “Hmm…maybe our experiment triggered something.” Smiling now, Jack looked down at the Mayor. “Everything will be fine, Mayor. You have nothing to worry about.” Jack said.

Donald crossed his arms while Goofy said “Gawrsh, I guess we need to help out then!” Sora on the other hand was laughing nervously since I said, “See! This is what happens when you want to see Heartless dancing!”

Getting into a quick battle, I pulled my keyblade out and aimed at a Search Ghost. “Fira!” The flame spell hit the heartless, causing it to disappear in black ash.

Donald and Jack both were casting thunder while Sora was attacking them directly. “Watch out!” Goofy shouted pointing towards the mummy heartless that began appearing. It clawed hand slashed at me, slicing my arm and I winched in pain.

“Fira!” I ducked down when I saw Donald cast the fire spell at the Wight Knight. It flailed backwards from the impact and landed, twitching on the ground. Looking down at the heartless, it rose from the ground like a zombie making me grip my keyblade handle tightly. “DIE YOU EVIL HEARTLESS!”

Before I managed to slash it, it jumped backwards, its claws glowing light purple and ready to attack me. This time I was ready for the attack. “Blizzara!”  I said and right as the ice spell hit the heartless, I tossed the keyblade it, slicing it into. The keyblade hit another heartless before returning back to me.

Goofy tossed his shield and destroyed the last heartless. Looking around, I let out a sigh.

“Well that was annoying” I commented as I placed my keyblade back in the sheaf. Sora, looking around making sure no more heartless would appear, let out a sigh. “Guess they can’t be controlled…”

Jack, looking around seemingly unfazed by all that had happened, pointed towards a gate. “Let’s go to the Graveyard. That’s where Sally may be” Jack said and began to lead the way. Following Jack reluctantly, we entered the graveyard. A creepy feeling that somebody was watching caused me to look around.

“What’s wrong?” Sora asked looking over at me. “N-Nothing. Nothing at all…” But right as I said that, a blue blur whished past my face, causing me to yelp and fall to the ground in surprise. “Ow”

The ghost dog flew up to Jack. “Zero! Have you seen Sally anywhere?” Jack asked the little ghost dog. He flew by him and went to one of the statues. A little gasp was heard from there. A woman then stood up, her body seemed to be stitched together; this was Sally.

“Ah! Hello Sally!” Jack said kindly and Sally looked to us. We waved slightly as she asked “Are they new here? I haven’t seen them here before” Jack, turning to look at us for the quickest second before focusing back at Sally. “Oh these are my new friends, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Michelle” He introduced, pointing to each of us in order.

“Is something wrong, Jack?” She asked. Jack shook his head. “No, everything’s going great. We’re going to have the best Halloween ever. All we need now is your memory” He explained kindly to Sally. Sally put a finger to her chin and thought for a quick second.

“Memory” You mean this?” She asked showing a little plant that had white cottons on the ends of the sticks. “Ahh! Wonderful!” She handed it to Jack as he began to look at it.

“Hey, you okay Michelle?” Sora asked me as I rubbed my bruised arm. I shakily nodded and took the extended hand he offered.

“Jack, I have a bad feeling about this. Why don’t you try something else? There’s still time.” Sally exclaimed causing Jack to turn to her. He had a smile on his face as he waved his hand around. “Nothing could beat what I’ve got planned!”

“Once we give the Heartless a heart, they’ll dance just as I envision it. Trust me. You’re going to love it!” He said, turning to Sally. Sally looked deeply worried but said nothing more. “Now let’s head back to the lab!” Jack exclaimed to us and began to walk out the graveyard. With Goofy, Sora, and Donald following Jack, I was about to go as well when I heard Sally say something.

“Umm, are you friends with Jack?” She asked, looking at me. Turning slightly, I shrugged. “You could say that.” I said unsure if we really ‘friends’ with him. ” Walking closer to me, Sally looked around before focusing on me. “Please try to change his mind on that heart…I have a bad feeling it won’t bring any good” She explained sadly her eyes focused on the ground. I blinked in surprise. She was asking me try to stop Jack!?

Hmm? Could it be done? A small smirk was playing on my face as I began to think of everything I could’ve possibly done to ‘accidently’ brake the heart. “Please Michelle, a small favor that’s all. I just—he doesn’t listen when I try to explain, maybe if you and your other friends did, he may reconsider” Putting a hand to my chin, I hummed thoughtfully.

All she’s asking me to really do is try to convince Jack not to go on with the experiment that’s all. What harm could that bring?

“All right, I’ll do it” I told her and she smiled softly.

“HEYY! MICHELLE! C’MON!” I heard Sora shout and I jumped. Turning towards the gate, I looked back and smiled at Sally. “Don’t worry Sally! You can trust me!” I reassured her and ran out of the graveyard. Leaving the graveyard, I saw Sora, with his arms crossed waiting patiently at the bottom of the steps.

“What happened with you and Sally?” He asked when I reached the bottom of the stairs. I gulped and turned my head to him, smiling nervously. “You heard?” He nodded and I let out a sigh. I sat down on the steps and placed a hand on my chin. “She wants me to try to convince Jack to stop trying to make the heart” I said causing the brunette to jump.

“Really?”

“Yeah, she has a bad feeling about this—and I agree” I dropped my head into my hands and shook it. Sora rubbed his head, looking towards the lab where everyone had already left. “Oh come on Michelle, you gotta lighten up” He said jokingly.

I looked at him with a ‘Are you serious?’ but it didn’t seem to notice. “If something happens, we’ll try to change Jack’s mind then” Sora told me, his smile showing his fang teeth. Overall, I shivered because he still freaked me out.

“So let’s go and head back to the Doctor’s Lab” Not having much of a choice, I decided to follow him back to the lab. Heading up the stairs, I wondered if I could keep that promise to Sally. I knew that the heart gets stolen but is it possible to change Jack’s mind?

I mean, when he gets focused on something, he won’t stop till something VERY convincing proves him wrong. I’m not good at convincing people to change there minds! And the challenge is that it’s Jack Skellington! Dropping my head, I could tell Sora was staring at me.

Pushing open the door, I could hear the doctor say “Yes. This is it.” He was holding the heart while Jack looked at it in interest and Donald and Goofy looking at us as we entered the room. “Where the heck was you guys?” Donald demanded quietly.

Placing a hand near my face, I knelt down and whispered it to Donald causing him to jump slightly. “What!?” He shouted but Sora covered his mouth before he sounded like he was going to shout it. I glared at him and nodded. “Yeah, Sally feels like something’s going to happen to the heart. I feel like someone might take it…” I told them while Goofy scratched his head.

“But who would wanna take it?” Goofy asked. Suddenly a crash caused us to turn to see the Doctor on the floor and a kid dressed in a red devil outfit was jumping off the bed with the heart. Two other little kids where in the room, standing at the door, a little witch and….I can’t tell he was. “Later losers!” He called out and left the lab with the other two kids laughing The Doctor furiously getting on his wheel chair.

“The nerve of those little hooligans, stealing my work!” He yelled. Jack quickly went to the Doctor and said “Don’t worry Doctor, we’ll get them” Sora and I looked at each other and I was grinning. “Told you” I exclaimed while he rolled his eyes.

“All right! Sora, Donald, Goofy, Michelle! We’re off!” Giving a small smile, I followed Jack with the others. Leaving the lab, we looked around the town. How could they have escaped so quickly!

“They got away!” Sora said and Jack nodded. “Not quite!” He said and patted his knee. As on cue, Zero flew by, instantly going to Jack. “Zero, after them quick!” Jack told his ghost dog and the dog gave a nod. He then began flying towards the Graveyard and Jack looked at us.

“He’ll lead us to where the kids ran off to, c’mon!”

Racing to the graveyard and having a couple more encounters with the heartless, we reached Curly Hill. “What the heck…?” Was all I could say when I saw the three kids riding……a walking bath tub. It was walking along the stretched hill, going over a wall that led to somewhere else.

‘I’m so going to therapy if I survive this experience.’

“How did they do that?” Sora asked while Jack looked around. It wasn’t all uncurled like it was before. We went towards it and looked at it. “So how do we, um move it?” I asked.

Goofy, not looking where he was going, tripped over a rock that was there and fell over.

“Clumsy” Donald said. But then the hill started uncurling. “But he does have his moments” I said as I lend a hand to Goofy to help him up. “So Jack, who were those three kids?” Sora asked curiously, his hands behind his head. “Oh those three were Shock, Lock, and Barrel,” He went up the hill before turning back to us.

“Come on, I have a bad feeling I know WHO they took the Doctor’s heart for” He exclaimed causing us four to raise a brow.

“Who would want an experimental heart?” I wondered.

“I don’t know but I guess we’re going to find out” Sora deemed. Racing up the hill, we jumped off and I looked back seeing the hill curling up once more. Heartless were becoming more annoying as we had to fight a large group of heartless here before we could cross the bridge.

Hiding in part of the forest, I watched as the bath tub went across the bridge and head up the large castle. I shuddered at the menacing vibe it was giving. “I knew it! Oogie Boogie was behind this!” Jack said loudly, hitting his boney hand against the other. “Oogie…Boogie?” Donald spaced out quietly.

“Yes, Oogie Boogie always is trying to become better than me and usually sends those three to do is dirty work” Jack explained to us. “So I’m guessing this Oogie Boogie guy is no good” Donald said and Jack nodded. “We need to stop those kids before they give him that heart!”

Coming out from hiding, we reached the bridge and I looked up. All the way on top of the castle, I could see the bath tub entering a room. I paled thinking we’re going to have to run ALL the way to the top then get into a fight with those pesky little kids.

_You know, those wings of yours could help_

I froze when she mentioned that. Actually focusing towards my back, I could feel…my joints moving, ever so slowly. Something was beating gently along my back. I blinked slowly and looked towards my back, looking at those wings to see they gently swayed. They were able to move, they felt so alive at the moment. I shook my head violently, rubbing my arm gently.

“I am not going to use these; I don’t want to feel my wings….” I muttered softly.

_Suite yourself, it beats walking_

“Yes, but I don’t know how to fly so I would end up falling, I rather walk,” With the voice finally silenced, I looked at the others who were ready for anything. “Okay then! Let’s go”

The bridge was severally unstable, proven when Donald nearly fell to his death but Goofy caught him before that could happen. Looking up at the castle, I looked over to Jack. “So where are we exactly heading?” I decided to ask. Jack pointed up and everyone followed in his direction.

At the top?

I knew that already but I mean— “In that small room, that’s where they are” Jack exclaimed and his boney fist tightened. Sora turned to Jack before looking up. “I guess that means we’re going to have a long way to go…” He remarked dully.

Rolling up my sleeves, I pulled my Keyblade out. “So then let’s not waste any time! Let’s go!” There was silence causing me to blink a couple of times. “Then get on the bridge and we’ll go…” Sora said loudly causing me to look and notice I hadn’t even stepped on the bridge. Whoops! I probably didn’t go on after what had happened with Donald. Rubbing my head embarrassingly, I rushed over to them.

And that’s when we began to go up. Had I know up was going to take so long; I might’ve actually considering trying out the whole ‘flying’ concept. Even Sora tried it though when he did, the wings didn’t twitch at all.

“Gosh, maybe there broken” Goofy said, trying to cheer up Sora. Sora ended up hanging his head in defeat. Donald tapped his foot impatiently besides muttering, “I think there only for show…” I sighed, taking after Jack who had reached the top of the stairs, waving for us. “Let’s hurry it up fellows!

That was probably the last time we had a small break. After that, it was all up from there. Heartless were crawling all over there. Wight Knights, Hover Ghosts, and a new, more annoying heartless called the Gargoyle. Blocking the flame attack, the gargoyle launched its self to me, its claws coming directly at me. I grabbed the handle and blocked the claws. Holding up my free hand, I waved.

“Bye-bye!”

The large blizzard spell encased the heartless and it shattered into pieces when it fell to the floor. Wiping my head, I looked over at Sora who was talking with Goofy, Jack was wiping off some dirt off his sleeves and Donald…well was just being Donald.

Continuing upward, I was irritably getting bored. Not from fighting the heartless or climbing ALL the way up the manor; it was the fact that it was eerily quiet while we were doing it. That’s when a random thought came to my head. Hey, I wonder if I can get the voice to talk. ‘HEY VOICE! WAKEY UP!’

Silence remained beside the conversation Sora and Goofy were still having causing me to frown. ‘Hoshi! I know you’re there! You better damn answer me or I’ll be pissed off!’ I thought loudly.

_Hoshi?_

I jumped, startled by the suddenness of her voice. A smile began forming on my face. ‘Ah-hah! I finally got your attention!’

_Congratulations, you deserve a prize._

I could hear the sarcasm dripping from her voice making me roll my eyes. ‘I got a bone to pick with you!’ I thought angrily and all I heard was an amused ‘hmpf’.

‘What were you trying to prove back there in Monstro?’

_That? Well, obviously since you’re refusing to comply with me, I keep showing you these memories that will slowly drive you crazy._

My heart throbbed in pain, but I refused to clutch my hand to my chest. ‘What!?’

_This is not your world to exist in._

Panting slightly, I looked at the others. They seemed completely oblivious to my current condition so I decided to let it stay that way. Standing up straight and continue to walk, I wanted to know why this was happening.

‘So what happens then?’ I could hear a tsk admit from a breeze.

_It’s a surprise_

‘What!? Don’t mess around with me!’ I responded angrily.

Silence engulfed my thoughts, leaving me to bicker and complain to myself. I tightened my fist into a ball and clenched my teeth. “That bi—” I sneered quietly, containing the slurs that wanted to ring out. Hoshi was an enigmatic, yet she held all my questions and answers within. Damn.

I grimaced, rubbing the back of my neck. The way this was leading up, I was sure something bad was going to happen.

“Here we are…” Jack slowly sneaked up to the door and motioned for us to come over. Pressing an ear to the door, we could hear the trio laugh. “One, two, three—” Jack slammed the door open, revealing the heart to be plummeted down what looked like to be a laundry shoot, and the three kids turning around.

“Busted!” They shouted in unison.

And somehow we ended up trying to chance them.

“HEY! HOLD STILL! ACK!” Donald rubbed his beak when Lock jumped off it across the room. Looking around, Shock was spinning around me while Barrel rolled on the ground. I tried kicking Shock but Barrel came and tripped me. “WHA!” Landing on my butt, I glared at the two kids that were laughing. “Oh that’s it!” I shouted and held my hand out. “THUNDER!”

Lightning shot at them but they quickly dodged. I twitched in anger while I could see that the others were easily getting as annoyed as I was. Sora was constantly after Lock who was throwing small fire crackers to slow him down. Jack was watching Barrel circle around the room before attempting to stop him.

“Ah ha!” Jack grabbed him causing Barrel to squirm around angrily shouting “Let me go!”

“Take this!” Lock jumped over Jack dropping a bunch of firecrackers on him causing him to drop Barrel who quickly recovered and began rolling off again.

Goofy threw his shield at Lock and he hit him! I was about to cast blizzard but Shock jumped on top of my face. I felt my left eye twitching as I turned to the purple witch who was laughing at me. “OH THAT’S IT!” I shouted and started to chase after her.

“I got—” Sora was about to get the injured Lock but Barrel rolled over and laid on the ground causing the teen to trip over him. Barrel bashfully laughed while Sora turned, glaring. “Why you little!” Shaking his fist, he chased after the kid. Jack was trying to heal himself while Goofy fanned Donald to wake up after the kids had dropped a vase on his head.

“Hey Donald…”

“WHA!” Donald flew up and stared around crazily. “They’re still running around!?” He demanded when he saw the two kids running away from Sora and I. Before I knew it, I ended up crashing into Sora and we both fell to the ground, gripping our noses. “Ow…” I groaned, wincing lightly from the stinging. I hit Sora’s mask! OW! What is that thing made of!?

“HA-Ha!” Lock, sneaking past the other three joined back with his two friends. Sitting up, I looked over to Sora who was doing the same. “I’m going to go crazy after this…” I said and stood up.

“HA!” Donald had casted stop but Shock knocked him over before he could do some real damage to Lock. Steam was beginning to fume from his head and he held his wand up angrily. “Blizzadra! Blizzadra! Blizzadra!” The floor had suddenly become frozen solid while Sora looked bewildered.

“Donald!” He stuttered, his teeth beginning to chatter. Shock, Lock, and Barrel stared around in awe but then focused back on us.

“Eh I guess I got carried away…” Donald said apologetically while Goofy was ice skating around the room saying “Hey! Lookie!”

“Uh-oh!” Barrel was about to run but he ended up slipping across the whole floor, ending up in the worse place. Cracking my knuckles, I smiled viciously at the kid. Oh the world of pain he was going to be in now.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Wiping my hands, I frowned at the tied up trio. “Okay, are you going to confess—” Sora began and I cracked my knuckles walking up to his side. “Or do we have to go through this again?” I finished angrily. The trio shook and Shock shook her head furiously.

“We were just following orders!” Shock said. “Oogie Boogie told us to steal the heart. It’s all Barrels’ fault. It was his idea to tell Oogie Boogie about the heart. ” She continued causing Barrel to turn his head to her and give a small ‘HUH!?’

“Yeah, that’s right!” Lock confirmed much to Barrel’s dismay.

“B-But you guys said” Barrel try to say but was interrupted when Shock turned her attention to him. “You should be ashamed!” Shock scowled him. My expression soften, I felt bad for Barrel, being blamed for something he didn’t do. But it still didn’t change the matter of the fact.

“So where is the heart now?” Goofy asked.

“It’s probably were Oogie Boogie is, just find a green door when your out there” Barrel answered immediately getting angry glares from the two tied beside him. “What!?” ‘THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SECRET!” I rolled my eyes as Shock and Lock began to unleash angry complaints like ‘Oh man! Oogie Boogie is going to eat us now!’ ‘I don’t wanna die!’ ‘It’s not my fault! You guys were blaming me before—’ ‘Shut up!’

Shutting the door behind us, Jack folded his arms. “Let’s head down! I know where it should be” Jack said.

Going down the castle, beating heartless while going down, we returned to the bridge. Jack showed us a secret entrance and we followed. “So is that it?” Donald asked and Jack gave a small nod. “Yup, Oogie Boogie should be in there” Jack said firmly.

Sora was the first to open the doors and we all ran into the casino room….of Death. O.o Jeez….I didn’t think having scythes, guns, heartless, and spinning blades disks were actually needed to gamble!

Jack saw Oogie Boogie who turned to look at what the ruckus was, frowning when he saw us. “Oogie Boogie, give me back the heart!” Jack demanded pointing to him. He kept an innocent look on his baggy feature and asked “What heart, I don’t have any heart”

It was silent for a few seconds when Sora asked “So what’s that in your hand?” Oogie Boogie looked down, realizing he was showing the heart. Jack was not amused. “Give it back!” He demanded and Oogie Boogie laughed.

“You want it? Well, then come on over and get it!” He said.

He grabbed the heart and put it in his mouth. He then swallowed it while Jack watched in disbelief and curiosity. He then started laughing a bit when he said “Now, let’s see if I can get their attention. Oh, Heartless!” We took our weapons out but—nothing happened.

“Err, is it broken?” I whispered to Sora who shrugged. That’s when two Gargoyles heartless flew over to him and he looked to each of them, obviously not pleased.

“This is it?” He asked dully, looking at the two heartless before staring at our group. He frowned and I could tell he was pissed off.

“Nobody disrespects me! Nobody!”

An explosion behind us knocked us into the death chamber below and Oogie Boogie began the fight with tossing some dice up into the air.

“Come on snake eyes!” Seeing giant dices fall near me, I looked down seeing he got what he wanted. “Oh shit.”

The dices disappeared and heartless appeared in there places causing me to jump back and take my keyblade out. Sora was the first to react and had jumped up, smacking one hard to knock it close enough to the ground so Goofy could hit it with his shield.

“Blizzadra!” Donald casted the ice spell, hitting the heartless that I was taking care of and Jack single handedly took out the third.

“Watch out guys!” Jack warned us when Oogie Boogie began throwing explosives dices at us. Dodge rolling out the way, I looked at Sora who jumped backwards to avoid the small explosion.

“How can we attack him if he’s up there?” I asked him while Oogie Boogie was running around, tossing dices, and doing the same things. He shrugged and I stomped in anger.

A small ‘click’ caused us to look down and saw the pink panel I had just stepped on. Metal fences barricaded us inside causing us to become more cautious. The floor below us rise up and we saw Oogie Boogie standing there in shock.

“What!?” He shouted in anger and I grinned. “Caught ya!” I pointed out and Sora charged at him with several combos. I joined him with shooting a bunch of magic spells. Soon enough Oogie Boogie jumped up and created an explosion that knocked us back down.

Landing on my butt, I groaned and glared at Oogie Boogie. “Now we know what to do at least” I muttered when Sora gave me a quick hand. Three dices fell and rolled on the ground causing us to turn seeing Donald, Goofy, and Jack fighting three more heartless. “Six! All right!” Oogie Boogie laughed darkly when scythes came down from the ceiling and began hacking at all of us.

“WHY IS THIS PLACE A MADHOUSE!?!?” I shouted while running from one of the blades that were following closely behind. Jack and Goofy jumped over the ones that were coming, Sora and Donald were ducking in the meantime.

(Heh heh, ducking XD)

Once the five minutes of that was done, heartless came back and the floor below us began rotating. The several panels in the middle began glowing and Sora watched as Oogie Boogie began running around. “Everyone! Let’s corner him!” He suggested and Jack ran up to him. “Let’s do it!”

I watched as Oogie Boogie came closer to us before stepping on the panel, trapping him inside the metal fence. “We have you now Oogie Boogie!” Jack declared as the floor below us began to rise and Oogie Boogie saw all five of us. We bashed him with attacks, magic, and a lot of other things.

“Enough!” The explosion knocked us off and we all landed on the floor. “Dang it! He’s just going to keep on doing that” I said angrily as the floor began to spin around and the fences lowered once again. “Yeah but all we need is to attack him all together like before and we’ll probably beat him” Sora said and Jack nodded.

Oogie Boogie tossed the three dices but I was ready this time. “Not this time!” I yelled and smacked one right back causing it to hit his head. “Why you little—” He started but another hit his ‘gut’ causing him to take a step back and glare down at me angrily as I returned the last of his dice back causing it to hit his head again.

“WHY YOU LITTLE PESK!” I smirked and placed the keyblade on my shoulder. “Take this!” He tossed the explosives dices down causing us to scatter around.

I gritted my teeth and looked seeing two heartless near by me. “Fire!” I shouted. The heartless dodged the spell and it charged at me but I blocked it. I kicked it away from me before tossing the keyblade to my left hand. “Blizzadra!” The mummy heartless froze in place and I sliced it in half.

It disintegrated and I turned, tossing the keyblade once again to my right hand before shouting “Thunder!”

The last gargoyle heartless that was going to attack Donald was hit by the bolt of lightning and turned into black ash. “Thanks!” Donald said and I gave a small nod. We both used our magic to try to get Oogie Boogie to stay in one place but he threw dices up. “Heads up!” I warned Donald and we both moved away in time.

By the time the smoke disappeared, the gates were up and Donald and I were separated from Sora, Goofy, and Jack.

“Not fair” I growled and crossed my arms. Donald took the little time to heal himself and the others. I tried hitting Oogie Boogie from a distance. The others were pushed off and landed on the floor once again. “We nearly got him!” Sora said and I looked up.

“We need to stay together, that’s all. Then we’ll beat him” I said calmly. He repeated what he did before (tossing the dices and the explosives ones) this time scythes came down, a spinning blade came around, and three mechanical robots came with guns firing at us.

Why is this all here in the first place?

Dodging all this while trying to keep an eye on where Oogie Boogie was moving next, I watched as the panels began to light up and I looked for the others. Goofy and Donald were close together, taking care of a heartless while Sora was healing himself and Jack was watching Ooogie’s movements.

“Hey, get together!” Sora yelled and I immediately went over to Jack. Sora hit the button and the fence came. All five of us were on this time. As the floor rose up, we saw Oogie Boogie standing there, almost looking petrified at the sight of all of us.

“Let’s finish this!” Jack came in and knocked Oogie Boogie with a combination of thunder and blizzard spells while Donald casted fire. Sora, Goofy and I were working together and beating the crap out of him.

“TAKE THIS!” I tossed the keyblade at him and it sliced him, causing a small rip in his baggy self. I smirked in success at the sight with Sora grinning beside, punching the air, “All right!” Sora cheered.

Oogie Boogie gazed down to the rip, growling angrily as he turned to us. He began to head towards us when suddenly the tear began to rip further, bugs beginning to pour out onto the ground. Bugs began falling out of the tear he had and he began to freak out. I grimaced as bugs began falling onto the floor in front of us. “I hate bugs….” I growled and took a step back. I nearly jumped when I noticed a giant blue bug was running off. “EW!” I shook my head and grabbed my arms, slowly inching away as quickly as possible.

They stopped falling and Oogie/ (or what was left of him) was on the ground with the heart still there.

“So, that heart was a failure after all.” Jack said dejectedly. He dropped his head, muttering something about what was he going to do next for Halloween.

“We should head out of here,” Sora suggested and we all gave a small nod in agreement.

Walking out of the manor, I felt so much better but I couldn’t help but get the feeling that I was forgetting something. It kept bugging me after we defeated Oogie Boogie. I stopped walking when I remembered the bug. “Oh shit….” I swore quietly and turned to the manor.

Nothing was happening so I decided to keep following the others. Once off the bridge I looked back once more and my eyes widen. Darkness was beginning to float around and the manor was changing. A large tremor shook through the land causing us all to get a little unbalanced.

“What the!?” Sora turned and looked over as well. His eyes widen in shock and ran over to the ledge with Jack. The whole manor had changed to look like Oogie Boogie (Freakily enough)

“Whoa! How did he get so big!?” Sora asked. Donald went over and pointed his wand at one point of the manor. There was a dark blob glowing darkly.

“Look! It’s brimming with the power of darkness!” Donald yelled.

“So Oogie Boogie is drawing power from those dark globs!” I asked and Donald gave a nod. With a turn of his head, Sora looked at Donald. “So we just have to destroy those things, right?” Sora asked. “Yup!” Donald said.

“Let’s split up! It’ll be easier that way!” Jack suggested. “Alright Sora you go with Jack and Donald while I go with Goofy!” I instructed pointing to each one quickly then looking over the cliff. Now how the hell am I going to survive this?

_I told you before didn’t I?_

‘No! Those wings freak me out!’ I shuddered and ignored Hoshi’s persuasion. Watching Sora, Donald, and Jack leap off the cliff, I gave a look to Goofy. “Ready?” I asked and he gave a determine nod.

I gulped, taking a look down. Oh we were really high. I shook the thought of falling to my death out and took a step back.

“Let’s go!”

Jumping off the ledge, I swear everything went so quickly. Falling felt so free like I was just soaring. Man, I couldn’t WAIT to get to Neverland if this was how it felt to fly. The bridge was coming close and I readied myself. Once close to the ground, I rolled and the impact didn’t hurt as bad as I thought it would. More like I might’ve sore my entire body. No big deal though, I’m still alive. Standing up, I looked seeing Goofy landing beside me, a little unbalanced.

“Whoa! Whoa!” Goofy cried almost tripping over the edge but I jumped and grabbed his hand before he fell. “Phew” “Thanks Michelle! Hyuck!” All right! We made it!

Looking off the edge I saw we were very high up. “Hey! There’s one!” Goofy pointed to the orb of darkness that was lodged onto the wall near us. I let the keyblade come to my hand and charged at the orb. Slicing it more than 12 times, it finally disintegrated into black ashes and a large rumble came from the house.

“Oh boy, we need to move fast” Goofy pointed out and decided to take care of a long distance orb while I provided magic support. Destroying two, we headed down and took out another one. The last one I remembered from the game was near the one with the cage—

“Wha!” I ducked to the ground, dodging an enormous flame ball and glared at the cage with two heartless by its side.

“Goofy! Cover me!” I quickly jumped and slashed at the heartless hurtling it towards the cage. The cage was knocked back but it soon came back and sent the heartless back but I slashed at it, black ashes were it once was. Quickly dodging a flame, Goofy tossed his shield at the heartless, instantly killing it and giving me a chance to attack the orb.

Moving over to it, I began repeatedly hacking at it with all I could. Using Lurebreaker wasn’t probably the best keyblade right now.

Landing one final blow to the glowing orb, the manor began to shake and I looked over to Goofy who was covering his head with his shield. “Uh I think we should run…” I said shakily and jumped when a large stone fell in between us. I froze and looked at the wide eyed Goofy. “Run”

“AHHH! RUN FOR IT GOOFY!”

The place was falling down for sure so we did the next best thing. Jump off the manor. We landed safely on the ground. (Definition: Falling on my butt and Goofy falling beside me, hitting the ground with his face).

“We made it!” Goofy remarked cheerfully. I chuckled softly, winching in pain from the sores and all the possible black and blues I probably have at this point. He sure was optimistic too.

“Yeah!” Finding Sora, Donald, and Jack coming close to us, we watched as the manor collapsed to the ground, dust and falling debris was all that was left. “Finally!” Donald groaned. I smiled and pushed off a strain of hair out of my face.

A light began to shine from the ground where Oogie Boogie’s manor once resided. Sora’s keyblade came to hand causing him to raise a brow. As the smoke cleared, a giant keyhole was revealed on the ground. Sora finally understood and pointed the keyblade towards the hole. The beam of light radiated as it connected with the keyhole.

It created a loud; echoing ‘click’ and the keyhole disappeared into the air.

Sora’s keyblade disappeared and he looked back at us. “Another one down!” I cheered and high fived Sora. Jack was staring at us a little puzzled on what had happened but shook his head. “We should return to the Lab” Jack suggested and began making his way out of the remains of the manor.

Following after Jack and Sora I noticed Sora stopped and something caught his eye. “Hey! A keychain” He picked it up and examined it. I snatched it out of his hands and looked at it. It was a blue crescent moon.

_Lunar Eclipse_

I blinked a few times before looking at Sora. “Do you mind if I keep this one?”

“You want it?” I nodded and gave him a puppy look. He resisted the stare for a few minutes but in the end gave in. “All right.”

“YAY! Thanks Sora!”

[The Doctor’s Laboratory]

“Sally, why didn’t I listen to you?” Jack asked when we returned to the Lab.

Jack had explained to the Doctor what had happened, trying to avoid the fact that the heart didn’t work till Donald accidently mentioned it causing the Doctor to shout loudly “WHAT!? MY CREATION WAS A FAILURE!?!”

Sally smiled reassuringly to Jack. “Don’t feel bad, Jack. We’ll come up with another plan for Halloween. Next time, we’ll do it together.” She said holding his hands. He smiled before letting out an exhausted sigh.

“I guess we have no choice. We’ll have to cancel the Heartless Halloween festival for now.” Jack said. Turning over to us, he smiled creepily but I guess it was suppose to be a ‘kind’ smile. “Visit us any time. Next year’s Halloween will be the scariest ever!” Jack said. Sora smiled and gave a nod. “Okay!”

The Doctor was looking into his book and crossed his arms. “Emotion, memory. We put in all the necessary ingredients. What else do you need to make a heart?” The Doctor asked before wheeling away from the book to the experiment on the table.

He then put a hand to his chin and hummed annoyingly while examining it. “What is a heart, anyway? I can’t figure it out” He said. I looked over at Donald and Goofy who looked like they were both thinking about it too. Good question. What the heck is a heart? In this series, apparently it has a LOT more purposes then its main reason of keeping you alive.

“Well I guess this is good bye!” We waved to the Jack and Sally and left the lab. “Hmm, I wonder why a heart is so special…” I murmured and placed a hand over where my heard should be. Sora shrugged. “Who knows, maybe we’ll find out one day” He exclaimed nonchalantly.

Once we were far away from the town the Gummi Ship had appeared and we went inside. Looking back at the world we were leaving, I let out a small sigh. Why was this series so confusing?


	15. Flying to Neverland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter until then, have fun everyone!

“BOO!”

“QUUUUUUACKKK!” Donald screamed. A snicker erupted wildly from my lips, Sora scaring the living life out of Donald. We were basically on our knees on the ground, laughing so hard. I couldn’t help it! The look on Donald’s face was priceless! Guess he was acting tough during our visit to Halloween Town.

“That was not funny!” Donald said angrily.

I wiped a tear away and looked at Donald, my smile growing bigger. “No it wasn’t. It was hilarious!” I said and fell on my back to continue laughing. Donald puffed up but then stomped off angrily.

After five minutes of laughing, I manage to finally stop while Sora was still chuckling a little. I walked over to the monitors and watched for any signs of heartless ships. Things were back to the usual things we would do as we traveled to worlds.

“Wonder what other worlds are left out there” I said leaning in my chair.

“Aw phooey. We just need to go to each one. Let’s hope there isn’t anymore” Donald said. Sora looked over at Donald and pouted. “Sure. Fun hater” Sora said. Donald glared at him. I shook my head as I watched them argue….again. Man, they didn’t argue this much in the game!

Crossing my arms, I turned my attention back to the monitor. It’s funny; the monitor is set up just like how the game is. Also with a flip of a switch, it shows all the worlds we’ve been too and the two remaining ones were Neverland and Atlantica. A shiver came up thinking about what might happen if we go to Atlantica.

Oh man.

I hit my head against the monitor and sighed.

Time had begun to pass. It was about 3 hours since we left Halloween Town. I had fallen asleep at some point but only woke up to the small sound of a beeping. Looking tiredly around, I didn’t see anything that could be making the noise so I decided to ignore it.

But of course with my luck, somebody else had to point it out. “Hey, what’s that noise?” Donald asked. Sora looked at me, probably thinking that I knew what it was. “I don’t know” I insisted calmly and I looked at Goofy. He was leaning over the radar, tapping the screen a few times.

“Goofy, what are you doing?” Donald asked and Goofy turned to us, pointing at the radar. “Uh, a big ship is catching up to us” He answered causing Donald to quack in surprise.

“A ship?” I repeated. That’s when the ship shook causing us to jump from our seats. Running over to the window, I peered out and looked for the source of the shake.

“Gawk! Uh it’s a pirate ship!” Donald shouted pointing out the main window. And he was right about that. It was a LARGE pirate ship. My eyes widen in disbelief. You have to be kidding me.

“At this rate we’re going to crash into it!” Goofy pointed out. I gulped and Sora looked at all of us before shouting “Hang on! It’s going to ram us!”

And that was basically the last thing I heard before being tossed off my feet by the sudden impact.

“WHAAAAAACCCKKKK!!”

“YAHOO!”

“WHAAAAA!”

“HOLY!!”

Getting thrown in the air, I didn’t expect to take such a long time to hit a surface. My eyes snapped open when I didn’t feel anything. Wait, I didn’t hit the floor?

I tilted my head wildly, looking around as I tried to find the others. I could suddenly hear a groan and I looked madly, still unable to find them.

“Is Donald okay?” I nervously called out, noting that it was Donald that was grunting.

“I can’t breathe!” Donald could barely respond. I tilted my body slightly, finally being able to find the others below. The only noticeable part of Donald was his beak. Goofy looked down at the duck under him. Now if Goofy broke his fall from Donald, how did I not fall? Wait everything’s upside— Oh.

“I’m stuck…” I looked at my ankle seeing a rope tied up to it, keeping me suspended in mid-air. Well, at least I didn’t fall. Only problem is that I can’t reach it and cut it off.

“Hey can someone help me?” Soon Donald was able to cast a fire spell on the rope and I landed on the ground. Not gracefully. I ended up landing on the two of them right when they were getting up. We all groaned, my back aching from the awkward angles. Wiping a strain of hair off my face, I looked around.

“I hate that we keep ending up falling out of this ship…” I murmured in annoyance. I grunted and rolled off the duo, sitting up roughly. Where had the gummi ship gone anyway? We were rammed!

“I wonder what happened to the Gummi ship…” I muttered curiously. We were on the pirate ship but there was no sign of anyone. No heartless or more importantly, no pirates. Phew. I still kept my guard up but it didn’t seem that bad. I went to the edge of the ship and looked down. We were in the middle of the ocean with land nowhere in sight.

Guess we’re not leaving anytime soon. But I knew we would be. This is Neverland after all!

“Hey, where’s Sora?” I heard Goofy ask.

Looking around, there was no sign of the brunette causing me to get a little worried. Isn’t he talking with Riku right now about Kairi? I walked around the deck only to hear a door to slam open. “Seems like we got company” a voice said. I turned and gasped. Walking towards us was Captain Hook and Riku. But right now I was focused on Riku who was staring at us unemotionally.

“Riku! What are you doing here?!” I demanded. My fists were beginning to tighten. It was strange; I could feel something dark about him already. Much different from the last time I saw him in Monstro. It was more sinister. Was Riku beginning to use the darkness? He turned his attention and grimaced. Even the look in his eyes was nothing but serious and dark.

“None of your business” He retorted coolly. Captain Hook then swung his hooked hand at us. “I’ll take care of these little rats. You go” Hook told Riku who from the corner of his eye glared at him.

This was my chance! Maybe I could stop him! I took one step forward shouting “Hey wait!” For a second I swear I saw Riku stop but that changed when the floor under us disappeared.

“WAH!” I heard Donald cry out as we plunged down into the darkness below.

Hitting the ground with a thud, I groaned in pain. “Uhh…” “Ouf!” Goofy just landed on Donald and I. Ouch…this hurts.

“Well that was stupid!” Donald said angrily. I pounded my fist against the ground in annoyance. “Man I could’ve stopped him!” I started but then looked up to where we had fallen in from. “But we just HAD to end up down here!”

Donald gave a nod. “If I see him again—ohhh!” Donald crossed his arms as he began to grumble not understandable words. I glared at the floor and laid my head across my arms.

“I wonder where Sora is.” Goofy said in an attempt to change the mood. “Probably up there still” I guessed quietly.

There was a loud noise causing us to look up. Suddenly the trap opened up and we saw someone fall. And of course, that person fell on top of us.

“Ouch…What the heck!?” Donald cried in anger. “Ughh…” Spiky hair was blocking his face but I could tell who it was right away.

“Hey Sora! You’re okay!” And at least now we know where Sora ended up. Now we were trapped together.

Just peachy.

“Guys you’re never going to believe what happened!” I placed a hand under my chin and rested it there. “Care to explain?” I asked sarcastically. Sora nodded enthusiastically and began talking.

“I saw Kairi!”

“You don’t say?”

“Yeah, it was definitely Kairi. I’ve finally found her.”

Sora was staring dreamily at the ceiling of the prison we were in. I smiled and put my head on my chin. He just finished telling us about how he talked with Riku before he was dropped down here with us.

“All right! Then let’s go up and talk to her.” Goofy encouraged him and he nodded.

“Yeah” Sora murmured. I tapped my fingers against the wooden floor before looking at Donald who was coughing for the others attention.

“You know, this sounds great and all but first—” Donald tapped his fingers against the ground getting all of our attention as I nodded in agreement.

“How bout getting off us!!” Donald and I yelled. Sora quickly got up as did Goofy so I was able to take an actually breathe of air. Finally! I felt like I was beginning to get crushed.

I stood up, dusting my self off while Donald got help from Goofy. Sora was looking out the slot in the door and sighed heavily. “We’re locked in” Sora exclaimed.

I crossed my arms and looked around. There weren’t many options of escape but I knew we could get out. Just need to take out the keyblade! That seems easy enough.

“Ahem!”

Huh? I looked around till I heard the voice again. “How ya doin’ there? Looking for a way out?” A person asked. I looked towards the barrels and suddenly a boy came out, doing a flip in the air and land in front of us. I gasped and Donald blinked in astonishment.

Where the heck did HE come from!?

“Who are you?” Goofy asked the boy wearing a green tunic, green tights and a green hat with a red feather on it. ‘Peter Pan!’

“I’m the answer to your prayers.” He answered brightly. Donald didn’t believe this guy for one minute. I raised a brow. Did he really think we would believe him that easily? Peter crossed his arms. “Okay, then. Fine. Have it your way.” He said and turned.

Sora stared at Peter, crossing his arms behind his head. “But you’re stuck in here too, aren’t you?” He asked curiously. Peter shook his head and smirked. “No. I’m just waiting for someone.” He retorted crossing his arms.

“Who?” I decided to ask. Suddenly a light went past Sora and to Peter. It began to move around him as Peter smiled. “Tinker Bell, what took you so long?” he asked the ball of light. I stared at it in shock. That was Tinker Bell!? I never imagined her to be that small.

She seemed like she was talking to him but to us four, we had no clue what she was saying. “Great job. So you found Wendy?” Peter asked her. She shook her head then said something that confused Peter. “Hold on. There was another girl there, too?” He repeated and she threw her arms up in to the air and seemed like she was shouting something at him.

“Are you crazy? There is no way I’m gonna leave Wendy there!” Peter yelled. Tink stomped in the air and pouted angrily. For a second, I thought she turned a bright red.

“Hey? Can’t we just open the door with the keyblade?” I whispered to Sora who still seemed to be thinking about what Peter had mentioned of the ‘other girl’ Tinker Bell had saw. He waved his hand and smiled. “Yeah but I’m just seeing what’s going to happen” He whispered.

Donald was snickering at the commotion Tinker Bell was causing with her little tantrum. “Aha. She must be pretty jealous” Donald pointed out and I let out a sigh.

“Shouldn’t have said that” I muttered lightly. Tinker bell then went up to Donald, and kicked him on the beak. She then flew out the room as Peter shouted “Come on, Tink! Open up the door!” Looking into the hall, I saw Tinker Bell leaning against the poll, her back facing us and her arms crossed.

“Looks like she’s pretty mad” I pointed out and turned to Peter. We all were looking at the red hair boy who gave an exhausted sigh before holding out his hand. “I’m Peter Pan” He introduced. Sora smiled.

“I’m Sora”

Sora was about to shake hands but Peter quickly pulled back his hand saying “Okay, we’re in this together, but only ‘til we find Wendy.”

Sora frowned but no matter, he took out his keyblade and pointed it towards the keyhole in the door. The door slowly opened up and we walked out. “Tinker Bell” Peter scowled when he left the room. Tinker Bell crossed her arms and just began to fly off.

“All right, let’s follow Tinker Bell” Peter told us and jumped up. That’s when he began to fly. I gasped in disbelief. “Come on guys!” Peter called from above. I looked at Goofy while Sora and Donald were beginning to climb the ladder. “Any chance you know how he can fly?” I asked Goofy and he shook his head in response.

Once up the ladder, we ran into some heartless that we easily took out. Going through the ship was harder than I thought it would be. At some point, I swear I saw something that resembled Sora. But it was dancing around while we were fighting before it disappeared. And it would keep reappearing whenever we had a fight with the heartless.

“Hey Peter, can shadows dance?” I asked him as we walked through a hall. Sora gave me a ‘what kind of question is that?’ sort of look while I waited for Peter to answer.

He put a hand to his chin and hummed. “Well my shadow does it all the time but I don’t know about anyone else. It could be possible” He answered unsurely. I looked behind us and gulped slightly. Please don’t tell me that was Sora’s shadow because it’s creepy enough already here.

Sora was staring at Peter as he flew in front of us. Goofy stopped walking finally and asked “So, uh, how come you can fly?”

Peter halted and turned to us with his eyes widen. “You never tried to fly?” He asked in disbelief. I shook my head. “I don’t think we can fly even if we wanted to” I exclaimed but then looked to Donald. Well, he can fly technically. He’s a duck. There suppose to fly!

“Anyone can fly. You wanna try?” He asked us and landed on the floor. “Yeah!” I said so quickly, it almost sounded like an automatic answer for all of us. That’s when Tinker Bell flew down to Peter and shook her head, saying something to him once more.

“Aw, haven’t you cooled off yet, Tink?” He asked her and she crossed her arms in protest. He then picked her up by her wings and flew above us. Shaking her a little, sparkles of gold dust fell on us and when I touched it, it dissolved into nothing.

“Just a little bit of pixie dust. And there. Now you can fly.” He said. “Just like that?” Sora asked him, checking his clothes for any signs of the pixie dust that just landed on him.

Donald jumped into the air and started flapping his wings energetically, only to fall right back down with a thud. Tinker Bell flew to him and started laughing at him. Donald glared at her and jumped up back to his feet. “Well you need to have faith and a happy thought in order to fly” Peter exclaimed and I crossed my arms.

“I’m guessing that we can’t just—” I said and was only stopped when Tinker Bell flew past me causing me to take a step back.

Tinker Bell then flew up, pointing to a wired area repeatedly. Peter flew up to her and asked “What is it Tink?”

“Peter? Peter Pan?” It was a girl’s voice that caused Peter to look up to the wired area. Someone then knelt down, pushing her blue dress out of the way.

“Wendy! You’re alright!” Peter said and she smiled. Her smile then faded and was replaced with a more troubled one.

“Please hurry! The pirates are coming!” She said desperately.

“What! I’ll be right up there! Just hold on!” He insured her and she nodded. “Man, if only we could break through this metal netting” I said while Sora was looking up carefully.

“All right” Sora walked up and looked up at Wendy. “Wendy?” Peter moved so Wendy could look down at him. “Yes?” “Is there another girl in there with you?” Sora asked.

Wendy lifted her head up and nodded. “Oh, why, yes. But she seems to be asleep. She hasn’t budged an inch.” Wendy told him.   “Kairi? Kairi?” Sora yelled. Sitting on the corner of the wired netting, I actually got my first glimpse of Kairi. Her hair fell short to her chin.

Her outfit was exactly how it was from the game and then I looked at her eyes. They were dark blue but what scared me was how they were so lifeless. It was like she was still in there somewhere; reaching out for Sora to help her. To save her.

Loud noises were coming from above and Wendy left, trying to hold back something.

Kairi twitched her hand showing that she still was moving. It was interesting she could move even IF she didn’t have her heart. Sora smiled widely like he was just given a reassurance of hope. Suddenly Wendy shrieked and the sound of a door being thrown open occurred. “Oh no!” I shouted and looked up at the screen.

Suddenly Kairi was being dragged away causing me to gasp and Sora to freak out. “Kairi!” He shouted.

“Wendy! Hey, let’s get up there!” Peter said determinedly. Sora nodded automatically and Peter pointed to a broken screen that was across from the one that Wendy and Kairi were at. “Up there then!”

Sora leaped towards the poll and began climbing up it to reach the screen netting. It was so determined. Donald and Goofy quickly followed but I was stuck. I really suck at climbing. Grabbing the poll, I forced myself up and jumped to the screen.

Man, if I was able to fly right now, this would be so much easier. Now don’t I sound a little hypocritical right now?

Looking down the hall that was filled with heartless we all took our weapons out. “Let’s find Kairi and Wendy!” I shouted and we charged.

Slamming the blade against a heartless, it disintegrated and I went on forward. A heartless with a curved sword leaped in front of me and nearly sliced my arm off unless for ducking quickly. “Fira!” The flame smashed the heartless back and I finished it off.

“Michelle!” Peter shouted from across the hall getting my attention. He brought his dagger down on a heartless before looking back at me. “Find Wendy!” He ordered. I nodded and shot another fire spell at a heartless.

Looking down the hall, I saw there were four doors. Which door was it? I went to the one to the left and opened it.

Stepping out, it led me to the deck of the ship. Heartless appeared and I gulped. “Definitely not here!” I rushed back inside and jiggled the door knob of the door across the one I just opened.

It didn’t budge. I frowned and casted aero before a heartless managed to sneak up on me. Twisting the knob frustrated didn’t help either so I did the next best thing.

“WENDY! WE’RE COMING TO SAVE YOU!” I announced loudly and smashed into the door. I fell inside with a thud. Ow, probably wasn’t my best idea. Looking up I saw there were two beds stacked up on each other and there laid Wendy on the ground.

Her eyes were closed and I could tell she was still alive because her back was rising slowly up and down.

I sighed in relief and got up quickly. Running back into the hall, I saw Goofy finish off the last heartless by crushing it under his shield.

“Guys! She’s in here!” I exclaimed and Peter flew past me. “Is Kairi there!?” Sora asked immediately. I hesitated but shook my head sadly. “No, I’m sorry” Sora grimaced but he quickly changed his expression to concern.

“Wendy!” We went in and saw Peter pick her up. Tink entered the room and noticed Wendy and yet again I saw her turn a slight red. Tink kept on flying by Peter, trying to rush him. “Come on, Tink! Not now!” He said annoyed.

She was obliviously mad and flew out the room in a rush. “Well, this is as far as I can go. I’ve gotta help Wendy.” He said to us. Sora nodded. “We understand” He exclaimed and Peter took off, flying away with Wendy in his arms.

I sighed and crossed my arms. “So now what?” I asked and Sora looked up to see a ladder entering the room. “We need to find Riku” He answered and began climbing the ladder. I gave a worried glance to both Donald and Goofy but I didn’t think they noticed.

Oh boy, this is where he starts his obsession with finding Riku.

I quietly sighed before climbing up the ladder after them. Once on top, I looked around to see that we were in a fairly large cabin. It was neat; expect for a few stacked up books scattered around the room.

Glancing around, I finally stopped and noticed Sora stop, his eyes widening. “Riku, wait!” I rushed by his side and saw Riku, standing in front of the door with Kairi in his arms. He glared and before Sora could step forward, a heartless appeared.

“Why you!” I yelled but Riku opened a portal of darkness and stepped into it, disappearing. My hands tightened into a fist and I could see my knuckles turning white. Man! I am going to punch him right in the face when I get a chance!

“Sora!” Donald cried out when the heartless stood up. I gasped along with Goofy while Sora simply stared. The shadow looked exactly like Sora. And I mean exactly expect that he was black and his eyes were glowing yellow. O.o

And what was worse, it took out a keyblade. (DUN, DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNN!)

“Oh you have got to be kidding me” I murmured. I held my hand out and my keyblade came to hand. Sora quickly swung out his hand, his keyblade flashing into his hand before hastily attacking.

But the Shadow Sora blocked him. Sora jumped back and the shadow jumped at me. I blocked him and threw him off as Donald shouted “Blizzadra!” The ice spell hit the heartless, doing damage to it. Suddenly the heartless began moving quickly around the room, resembling something like Sora’s Sonic Blade.

“Whoa!” I jumped on the desk before being hit. “He’s using the same moves as me!” Sora yelled in annoyance. I looked over at him and sighed. “Great” I began. “We’re practically fighting you now”

“Then we should know how to beat this then!” Donald exclaimed and held his wand up. Sora gave him an odd look but Donald shouted “Stop!” The heartless froze instantly, its arms still holding out with the keyblade in hand. I jumped off the desk and smirked.

“No matter what, he’s still a heartless” Donald pointed out and waved his wand once more to cast a spell. Goofy tossed his shield at the shadow as it was frozen in time while Sora casted gravity on it. The Shadow regained its movement and dove into the ground.

“Where did it go!?” Goofy asked.

I looked around and stared at the floor. “He was just here a minute ago” I heard Donald say.

I noticed a dark circle forming behind Sora but before I was able to shout, he turned and his widen at me. “Michelle! Behind you!” He said causing me to turn my head to see glowing yellow eyes.

Oh boy.

It slashed at me across the stomach and I shut my mouth from letting a small gasp come out. It was about to attack me for a second time but I managed to block this time. “Blizzard!” It dodged the ice spell and jumped away. I rubbed my stomach and glared at the shadow.

He went back into the ground but this time, three dark circles, swirling around the room. “Keep an eye out!” Sora warned and everyone held there weapons readily. Donald, being impatient, pulled his wand up. “Thundara!”

Lightning hit the ground and the shadow jumped out of the ground, dodging the lightning. “Stop!” I yelled and the shadow froze in midair. “Let’s go!”

We all slashed at him knowing that the spell wouldn’t last much longer. It suddenly twitched and spun around in mid-air, knocking Sora and I down as we were about to finish him off. I rubbed my cheek and glared at the heartless. The Shadow leapt down into the floor and suddenly several shadows were squirming around the floor.

“Thundara!” Donald and Sora shouted and lightning shot all over. Three Sora Shadows had now appeared.

“Which one is the real one?” Goofy asked, his eyes wandering around the three heartless.

I ran at one, slicing it across the stomach. It just disappeared in a dark smoke. “Let’s just find out” I exclaimed and went over to one of the other two. It brought it’s keyblade up and blocked my attacks. Sora slid behind it and stabbed it from the back. It dissolved into nothing.

“Donald! Goofy!” Sora called and Donald pointed his wand at the heartless. It was about to jump into the floor again but Goofy tossed his shield and knocked it off balance. “Stop!” The heartless froze and I tightened my grip on my keyblade.

We all attacked it at once and it suddenly jerked backwards. It went around the room again but when I looked over at Sora, it looked like he had it. “Fira!” The fire spell hit the heartless and it suddenly stopped.

We all charged at the Heartless and started attacking it. It then went to the ground disappearing again. It then appeared behind Donald hitting him. “Here you go!” Peter said giving him a potion. I then looked around to see where it went. Then it jumped into the air again. “Stop!” I yelled using Stop. He froze in midair and we all started attacking him. A bit of electricity started coming out of my keyblade and into the Shadow.

The Shadow Sora stood in front of the door, resembling like it was a puppet being held by strings then it dropped straight into the ground, disappearing into the shadows of the floor.

I panted heavily as I relaxed slightly. I looked over to Sora who seemed exhausted from the fight. “Now that was creepy” I said plainly. Sora nodded slowly in response. “Now let’s go out there”

Opening the door, we come face to face with Captain Hook, behind him the heartless and Mr. Smee. I frowned and looked at Captain Hook. “Quite a codfish, that Riku, running off with that girl without saying goodbye.” He said with fake tears.

Sora clenched his teeth and he tightened his fist. “Run off where? Tell me, where did he go?” Sora asked, with his keyblade in hand. He pointed angrily at Hook but he seemed unfazed. “To the ruins of Hollow Bastion, where Maleficent resides.” He answered.

I curled a piece of my hair and sighed quietly. “Hallow Bastion huh….” I muttered. I crossed my arms and smirked.

“But you won’t be going there.” He said quickly causing Sora to glare at him. “And why not?!” Donald asked.

Captain Hook smiled before his hand went to his pocket and took out a glass. A small light was buzzing around in there, tapping against the glass repeatedly. My eyes widen and Sora arm fell to his side when he saw. Donald and Goofy gasped loudly.

“Unless you intend to leave your little pixie friend behind?” Hook shook the glass a little and I looked immediately at Sora. I sighed in defeat. Sora then let the keyblade disappear from his hand and hanged his head down. The heartless surround us quickly.

“Hand over the Keyblades and I’ll spare your lives.” Hook offered. “Be glad I’m merciful, unlike the Heartless. So, which will it be? The Keyblades or the plank?” he pointed towards the blade with his hook hand. I tilted my head towards the edge of the boat and peered down.

Just dark water and…a green thing floating around. I looked closer and my eyes widen. A loud ticking noise floated from the ocean and Hook eyes widen and he sprinted to the edge of the boat. He looked down and made a noise that sounded a mix between a scream/shriek and ordered. “IT’S HIM! The crocodile that took me hand!” Hook screamed and jumped from the ledge to the door of his cabin.

“Oh, Smee! He’s after me other hand! I can’t stay here!! Oh I can’t stand the sight of him!” I stared in disbelief at Hook while Smee stuttered “B-But Captain!” “SMEE, YOU TAKE CARE OF THEM!” He yelled before slamming the door shut. Several sounds of things being locked occurred and Donald looked at me. “Wimp…” He murmured.

Smee sighed loudly, holding Tinker Bell in his hands. “Alright off with the plank with ya” Smee said. The heartless pushed Sora to the plank and blocked all ways for him to go. “Damn it!” I said, the Heartless still surrounding us. I clenched my teeth tightly and I closed my eyes.

“Tell me if he something good happens!” I told Goofy in distress. But I peeked at Goofy to see him nearly biting off all his fingers and Donald gulped loudly.

Sora looked around once, giving us small glances then winked. “Huh?” I tilted my head but then Sora jumped off the plank causing all three of us to gasp loudly. “SORA!” Donald, Goofy, and I yelled.

Yup, my heart just went dead. I could feel it pound against my chest at a hundred miles per hour. He really jumped! “All right! Ne—” Smee was interrupted when he heard a familiar call. Suddenly, Sora came from the side of the ship, soaring in midair. My jaw fell and I began to snicker. “Hehe I get why his name is Sora. Now he soars! Just gotta mix his name around! But it doesn’t mean his name Sky!” I thought continuously as I snickered.

Finally I stopped. “That did not make one sense at all” I thought sweat dropping in embarrassment. Then Peter Pan flew by and took Tinker Bell from Smee.

The two landed on the deck and Peter took Tink out who gratefully flew around us and was smiling. “SORA! YOU’RE ALRIGHT!” I cheered and threw an arm around Sora’s shoulder. He smiled and looked at Peter. “Thanks Peter” Sora said.

Peter smirked and crossed his arms. “Hey, don’t mention it. You didn’t think I’d leave you guys and Tink behind, did you?” He said. I crossed my arms. “So Wendy is safe!” I asked. He nodded brightly.

“Hey if Sora can fly can we too?” Goofy asked. Donald jumped into the air and started flying. Then I pulled him back to the ground. “I’m taking that as a yes!” I said happily. I was feeling so pumped. “Let’s get rid of this Heartless!” Sora said.

“Yeah!”

(Previously in Kingdom Hearts! Sora had to walk the plank. He does so but learns to fly in the nick of time! Peter returns to the group as a party member and we all get ready to take on the heartless. Yup, that sounds about right! Let’s go!)

Story Start~

“Take this evil Heartless pirate thing!!!” I shouted. Slashing down on the pirate heartless, it turned into black ash and I looked to my right. We all charged into battle and it was a little….confusing.

Sora, Peter and Donald were in the air taking care of the three Air Pirates. Goofy and I were on the ground.

“Goofy! Let’s take care of them!” Goofy nodded and threw his shield at a heartless. It got knocked backwards and the shield spun around in a circle like a boomerang and smashed it from behind, destroying.

I caught Goofy’s shield and threw it. Three heartless were charging at Goofy but all were knocked down by his shield. Goofy caught his shield and twirled around with his shield, knocking the heartless right off the ship.

I grinned and high fived Goofy once he was done. “Nice!” Just when we thought it was over, three Battleships came from the sides of the ship and turned its cannon towards us. My eyes widen and suddenly, I felt somebody grab my arms and hoisted me up into the air.

I looked up and saw Peter. “Going up!” He said as we narrowly dodged the cannon fire. Goofy was luckily saved by Donald and he was now flying. Peter let me go and I gulped. ‘I believe I can fly, I believe I can fly!!!’ I kept telling myself panicky as for a split second I felt as if I was about to fall.

But I didn’t. I looked down and saw I was flying. I couldn’t tell if my face lit up brightly but I knew that it felt amazing. Even if we were fighting. Looking over at Peter I smiled in appreciation. “Thanks Peter!” I said.

I flew off in another direction and charged towards the Battleships. Sora was single-handily fending off the heartless so I decided to step in. “Fira!” I casted. The flame hit the ship causing it to rock and Sora to look over at me. He gave me a thumb up and I returned it.

“You take care of one side; I’ll take care of the other!” He instructed. I rushed to the left side of the ship and pointed my keyblade towards the side. “Thundara!” Lightning struck down on the side of the ship and the cannons exploded. The left side was burning and Sora decided to finish it.

He flew towards it, his keyblade to his side and sliced the entire ship in half. It exploded and fell into the ocean as ash. “All right!” I cheered and glanced over my shoulder to see no more heartless.

“I’m guessing that’s it” I said as everyone flew towards the deck. My legs felt a little wobbly when I touched the deck and I had to grab the rail to prevent myself from falling flat on the deck. Peter shook his head and pointed towards Hook’s Cabin door with his thumb.

“Not quite, but I got a plan” Peter explained to us the plan and we all nodded in agreement. Sora and Peter flew over to the door and stood on both sides. Peter knocked on the door and snickered silently.

“Is that you, Smee? Did you finish them off?” Hook asked nervously. Peter held his nose before answering. “Aye, Captain. They walked the plank, every last one of them.” He answered sounding exactly like Smee who had actually jumped ship on another little boat.

The door opened Hook ran out, looking both ways. Slowly, Peter walked up behind him while holding his dagger. When he was behind him he poked at his back. Hook screamed, jumping about five feet into the air before coming back to the ground and turning to see Sora and Peter snickering.

“P-Peter Pa—blasts you!” Hook said angrily. Peter looked at him and smirked. “Ready to make a splash, you codfish? Now it’s your turn to walk the plank!” Peter said pointing to him.

“Come on out you heartless!” Captain Hook said and on cue two battleships appeared on both sides of the ship. Hook unsheathed his sword and pointed at all of us. “Blast them!”

“Whoa!” I jumped into the air dodging a canon shot. Sora ducked to the ground with Goofy while Donald and Peter flew up as well. “Peter, Sora, Goofy!” I called out getting there attention. “Donald and I will handle the heartless! You guys take care of Hook!”

They nodded and went towards Hook. Donald pulled his wand out and looked at the Battleships that were getting close to each other. “Let’s get them!” Donald yelled and charged forward only for me to grab the back of his jacket. The Battleships turned to us and were charging there cannons.

“I think you should hold on to that!” I said and pulled Donald away as the cannons fired at us. I let go of Donald and flashed my keyblade to my hand. “Now let’s do this!” I gripped the handle tightly and leaned forward. “Blizzadra!” Donald yelled and the ice spell hit the cannons, frost covering over the holes preventing any more firings. “Thundara!” I yelled and threw my keyblade up in the air. Nothing happened and I raised a brow.

“YAHHHHH!” I turned in a circle to see Hook actually got hit by the lightning. “Whoops. Still need to work on aiming. But I still got an enemy!” I said. Donald casted another spell, halting a ship in midair but the other one charged forward at Donald, knocking him backwards.

“Cure!” I said and Donald snapped out quickly and regained his position. I sliced down at the ‘frozen in time’ ship and sliced down three more times before it disappeared. Donald was about to cast another fire spell when suddenly Hook was running in midair. I raised a brow.

He looked at both me and Donald and was about to attack when he looked down, noticing that he was floating in mid-air above the water. “You’re not getting my other hand!” He said, running on air back to the ship.

“Heartless! Blast them!”

More heartless started coming from the water, including the two Air Pirates. I shook my head and Donald groaned loudly. “Are we like the get rid of the heartless team?” I asked Donald. He shrugged but flew to them, followed by me.

“Thundara!” Donald and I yelled, electrocuting the heartless. I then grabbed my keyblade and tossed it. It flew at one heartless but when it made collision, it diverted its attack to the others as well, taking them all out too. “Strike Raid for the win!” I cheered and grabbed hold of my keyblade.

The sword of metal clashing diverted my attention and I turned to see Peter and Hook fighting one on one. Peter kept blocking Hook’s attacks and he had the upper hand. “Go Peter!” I said with Donald cheering too.

Peter ducked Hook’s reckless slices and managed to get his dagger under Hook’s sword and threw it into the air. Hook gapped in astonishment for a second before noticing Peter pointing his dagger at him, smirking.

Hook held up his hands and smiled nervously. “Now let’s not get hasty” He said backing up a bit, but Sora pushed him back to Peter. Peter kicked him and he flew across the ship, landing in to water. There was a loud splash then total silence.

“SMEEEEEEEEEE!”

Donald and I flew over and landed on the other side of the ship, to see Captain Hook running for his life, away from the crocodile.

I smiled as I walked back to the others. Sora was leaning on a rail staring up towards the sky. Peter was talking to two boys who had somehow gotten onto the ship. One was dressed up as a bear and the other a fox. “Peter we found the treasure just like you said!” I overheard them say as I walked over to Donald and Goofy.

“Uh, Kairi couldn’t wake up, so maybe she’s really lost her—“ Goofy was going to say but Donald stopped him saying “Shh! Sora might hear you” Goofy gulped awkwardly. I turned over to Sora and frowned. “Sora” I began but I stopped when I saw him smiling.

“I still can’t believe it. I really flew. Wait ‘til I tell Kairi” He said. I sweatdropped. ‘Well at least he always looks on the bright side’ I thought. “I wonder if she’ll believe me. Probably not” Sora said casting his eyes towards the floor.

Peter looked over at Sora and smiled. “You can bring her to Neverland sometime. Then she can try it herself.” Peter said. “If you believe, you can do anything, right?” Sora asked. Peter nodded and Sora smiled, looking back up at the sky.

“I’ll find Kairi. I know I will. There’s so much I want to tell her—about flying, the pirates, and everything else that’s happened.” he said.

Tinker Bell flew by him and went to Peter. “What’s that, Tink? What about the clock tower? You say there’s something there?” Peter asked her and she nodded impatiently.

“Clock Tower?” Donald asked. “Yeah, we should head there.” Peter said. “How?” I asked. “Flying of course” Peter walked up towards the wheel of the ship and he looked over at Tink. She rushed past us and swirled around the entire ship. It shook, lifting up from the water and I rushed to the side of the ship.

“WHOA! THE SHIP IS FLYING!” I pointed out in amazement. This is possibly one of the greatest moments in my life.

The ship flew over large amounts of land and we decided to pick up some more people on the way. (I finally figured out that those two kids were the Lost Boys) Also we picked up Wendy and her two brothers.

Leaning against the door to Hook’s cabin and the upper decks, I sighed. Staring at the group of boys as they played a game of cards, I wondered why they weren’t in the game. Donald vs. the Lost Boys in Poker, oh boy, probably the reason WHY they couldn’t be there. “I WIN!” Donald cheered and took an arm long pile of gold, jewels, and I think…materia?

I looked over the pile while Goofy was grabbing three pieces of paper in the pile. “Hey! Here’s another page of that book!” Goofy handed over the page to me while he said the other two were apart of Ansem’s reports.

We finally made it to the Clock Tower in London. I stared in awe as we went pass the large clock tower. I softly smiled but I couldn’t help but feel a little sullen. Though we were in the 1920s, I can’t help but feel homesick.

“I wonder what Tink was so worried about the clock tower for?” Peter asked and walked over to my side. I shrugged. I glanced over to my side seeing Sora and Wendy talking about something. Getting bored of that, I looked back at the clock. I raised a brow at the one we passed. “Peter, its midnight right?” I asked him. He nodded.

“There’s a clock that has the wrong time on it! Let’s go back to that one” I insisted gaily. I was getting jittery as the ship went around once more around the clock then to the one that had the wrong time. A quarter to midnight it had. “That’s particular. I wonder why it’s at a different time” Wendy exclaimed as Sora straightened himself up.

“Want to fix it?” Peter suggested and I gave a nod. We both jumped off the ship and went to the minute hand. “Now let’s give it a push!” Pushing my arm against the cold metal, I could hear the cracking noise of it slowly moving upwards. We finally set it to midnight and a light appeared from the corner of the clock.

“What’s that?” Peter asked and I looked over to Sora who jumped onto the rail. He flew off and flashed his keyblade out.

A keyhole revealed itself and Sora pointed his keyblade towards it. A single ray of light shot out through the tip and locked up the keyhole. Peter landed back on the ship while I decided to keep floating around. Sora landed on the rail and looked over at the clock.

“I wonder how many we got left…” Sora said catching my attention. “Three.” Sora raised a brow as I passed him. “I bet you three more” I exclaimed holding up three fingers. Sora smirked.

“Peter, are you really going back to Neverland?” Wendy asked. “Afraid so. But we can see each other any time. As long as you don’t forget about Neverland, that is.” He said holding her hands. She smiled sweetly.

I smiled along with Sora and Goofy. Donald on the other hand began laughing at Tinker Bell who was turning red again. He then shut his mouth as she flew to Peter. She flew around him, stopped in front of his face, quickly saying something to him, then flew behind Sora.

“Oh boy. She’s gettin’ steamed again.” Peter joked. He put his hands on his hips and looked at Sora. “Do me a favor. Look after her for me, will ya?” Peter asked.

Tinker Bell flew up to Sora’s face and spinned around in joy. “What?” He asked almost bewilderedly. I laughed and landed back on the deck. “Alrighty, another member of the group” I said brightly. Tinker Bell flew around Sora as he groaned making everyone laugh.


	16. Under The Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little late but I had really spent a good amount of my time with my girlfriend and it was worth every second of the day. Even to the point here I got a little late on my writing. BUT DO NOT FEAR. I will try to finish this all up soon. Here's another chapter you guys! We're basically at the half way point of the story and I hope you guys enjoy it! Thank you for reading and support the story. You guys rock. Have a good day and enjoy reading!

[Gummi Ship]

“Flying was the best thing ever…” I murmured happily to myself. I was leaning back on the seat while Sora had convinced Donald to let him fly the gummi ship, having improved drastically since the beginning of this journey. Dreamily staring at the ceiling, I let out a small sigh. The feeling of flight had still rung through my veins, electrifying all my senses into this outstanding little place.

Flying really was the best thing in the world and I could only wish that I could’ve stayed there. I hummed softly, swaying my ankle gently. After a while, I was beginning to feel tired but I refused to go to sleep. No way in heck am I going to sleep ever again. Every time I do, guess who pops in my head.

_Shut up, I need to talk to you_

Speak of the freaking devil. I groaned softly, rubbing my cheek. Just when I thought I would be able to get some peace and quiet after a while.

“Here we go again…” I grimaced and rose from my chair, stretching lightly. I darted my attention momentarily to the others. Sora seemed pretty focused on driving while Donald and Goofy were talking about…I think something about the King. I quirked my lips gently before stretching again, smacking my lips together.

“I’m going to be right back, I’m going to read some of those Ansem reports,” Goofy turned his head for a quick second, raising a brow but Donald caught his attention again, distracting him.

I walked into my room and closed the door. Leaning my ear against the door, I listened to make sure no one was about to walk by then hear me talking to myself. I already have problems; I don’t want them to think I talk to myself too.

_Done now?_

I turned forward and saw Hoshi sitting on my bed. Her gaze met mine and she momentarily looked away to the reports that were sitting by my bedside. Okay, so I had partially lied. I began reading most of the documents last night when I had the chance. They certainly were interesting. I huffed slightly and sat down at the edge of my bed with the reports on my lap.

“So what do you want now?” I demanded. She disappeared from her spot beside me and drifted to the other side of the bed, her green eyes focused on me.

_You realize your wasting time, right?_

I frowned at her comment and crossed my arms against my chest. “Well, I’m sorry I’m flying across the universe, helping to save worlds from plunging into darkness! All in the meantime trying to find my friends to boot!”

++She rolled her eyes and pushed her hair out of her face. I frowned, moving away from my bed to sit in front of my door. Her presence alone was unnerving to be around. It felt like a cold chill ran up my spine every time she drew closer to me. Resting my arm on my knee I kept a guarded glance towards her.

“Can you at least explain to me why you’re rushing me through this all?” I asked her. Hoshi stared at me before placing a hand on her chest.

_I told you before that you are in danger here. What more can I explain?_

I snickered causing her to raise her head and shoot a glare at me. I covered my mouth till I fully stopped laughing. “It’s just that I’m always in danger!” I pointed out obviously.

“I fight heartless and nearly get killed every time I go to a new world, what other troubles can be lurking that I don’t know already?”

That’s when her eyes harden considerably and she stood up. Her teeth clenched tightly like she was trying to hold herself from saying something she wasn’t suppose to say. I raised a brow when she slapped her forehead. She sighed loudly and sat down on the bed once more. Her eyes softened and she let out a breath.

_It is my duty to keep a delicate balance. The balance was corrupted when your world fell into darkness. People were thrown from yours to here and vice versa. The order is in chaos and if something isn’t fixed, the damages could be irreversible._

She paused, her mouth slightly open like she was about to say more but she closed it with a quick shake of her head. My heart pounded louder as I was beginning to get nervous. She was hiding something from me. This new information was becoming unsettling to me. What was Hoshi at this point then? I could obviously tell she wasn’t here right now….but now I was beginning to worry that she wasn’t even alive.

Hoshi stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder. I winched lightly because I still had an injury from Shadow Sora. Her eyes were studying my shoulder before she pulled her hand away. Okay…I feel somewhat confused and nervous again.

_I’ve healed your injuries for the time being._

My eyes widen and I tugged at my shirt to look at my shoulder. The black and blue that once covered my entire shoulder was gone! How the hell did she do that!? I gasped and let go of my shirt. I turned my attention back to her to see she was now against the wall. I could feel the words rising up from my throat to thank her but I swallowed it back, unable to shake off the mistrust.

“Why are you helping me?” I decided to ask. She looked over her shoulder towards me, sighing softly and shook her head.

_You will find out in your own due time, maybe then, you will finally see what I’m trying to do_

My eyes widen for a split second before I was suddenly knocked off my feet when the ship turned roughly. I landed on my back, gasping loudly and groaned. I hunched over with a cough, rubbing my back wearily before looking upwards to the bed. Hoshi presence was once again gone and my patience began to wither again. I smacked my fist on the floor and sighed irritably.

I briefly stood up, pulling down at my sleeve to reveal my shoulder, still to see that my injuries were all but gone. Man, how did she do that?? What is she that she’s able to do something like that?? It sure would’ve helped for all the other bruises I’ve gotten and for any new ones I’ll probably be receiving.

“SORA! WHAT THE HECK!?” I could hear Donald yell as the ship began to move normally. “YOU NEARLY CRASHED INTO AN ASTRIOD!”

“I thought it was another world!” Sora shouted in defense. Thus the bickering ensued on who was right and who was wrong.

I rolled my eyes, walking over to my bed to collect the scattered journal entries across the ground. Bending down to collect some of the scattered parchments, I felt slightly constricted in my movements. I exhaled gently, noticing how tight my chest was beginning to feel. I gasped when I felt a sharp pain through my chest. I clutched my chest and tried taking slow breathes but it felt like somebody had stabbed my lungs. Something like this happened before, when I was little, I pulled a bone and it was poking at my ribcage causing hard times for me. I couldn’t breathe, I felt like I was dying. My chest felt heavy and I my throat felt constricted.

“Not…now!” I dropped the papers amongst my bed, falling onto my knees as my hands gripped the blankets fiercely, clinging to it. I wheezed hoarsely, my eyes tearing from the strain that my chest was going through. I remember this pain…god…it hurt so much.

Slowly after five minutes it finally came to a halt. I stared at the floor, panting normally and wiped my face. What…was that?

No, no, forget about it. Keep your mind off it. You need to relax or another one of those attacks can begin to unfold. I wearily picked myself up from the ground, slumping on my bed halfway. I looked towards the papers and reached for one, carefully hold it to read it.

Ansem Report 4:

                 ----

The Heartless appear in groups, and are multiplying rapidly. I've provided them both living and nonliving samples. They've responded only to the living. They seem to multiply after absorbing something from the living creatures.

Their prey vanishes without a trace. I believe the Heartless are taking hearts. They are born from those who've lost their hearts, and thrive on hearts seized from others.

The hearts taken by the Heartless become Heartless themselves. Though I lack proof, I am confident in this hypothesis. I must also study their behavioral principles. Though they lack emotions, they do seem to have some intelligence.

How to communicate with them?

It's just occurred to me: Could they be the darkness in people's hearts?

\----

What were Heartless exactly?

My lips parted, exhaling softly as I slumped further on my bed. We had collected Reports number 1-7 and I think we had almost all of Pooh’s pages. I bit my lip and breathed out from my nose, finally able to determine I was calm enough. I hoped that this isn’t what Hoshi was talking about. That something was going to go wrong with me?

My eyes narrowed and I lifted myself up from the bed. I should consider rushing…just to find out what the heck Hoshi is talking abo—

The ship jolted, my body flinging forward onto my bed and the journal entries ended up scattered all over the ground. I groaned loudly, slapping my forehead. NOT AGAIN. I heaved, quickly picking myself up from the bed and bolted towards the doorway.

“SORA!” This time it was both Donald and Goofy shouting. I bursted out from the room, darting my attention down the hall to find Donald, his arms crossed with his wand in his hand, hovering over Sora who remained on the ground with a rather big bruise on his head. Note to self, stop leaving them alone in order to figure things out.

“I said I was sorry!” Sora snapped, staring at Donald impatiently. I raised a brow, heading towards the duo, finally making note that it was Goofy driving the Gummi Ship now. “What happened?” I demanded.

“He almost crashed into another asteroid” Donald answered before Sora could make up something. Sora shot him a glare but Donald didn’t notice it. I looked out the window briefly before doing a double take, my eyes widening.

“I don’t think that was an asteroid Donald…” I began.

“What?” Donald looked out along with Sora and Goofy. It was a full minute of silence before everyone shrieked, “IT’S ANOTHER WORLD!”

Water filled this world and I gulped, noticing the elaborate castle that emitted from its depths. Atlantica. Oh boy. Time for….not singing and dancing just yet. Sora turned to Donald and gave him a ‘SEE! TOLD YA!’ look but Donald ignored it.

“Well, what should we do?” Goofy asked, turning to Sora. Sora hummed but I interrupted him before he could answer.

“We should go. We still haven’t found that Navi Gummi Cid told us to find so it’s possible that it’s there!” I exclaimed, with Sora merely nodding his head and he pointed towards me in agreement. Donald nodded, strolling down the hall towards his room.

“Okay, guys. Prepare for landing,” Donald told us. My jaw fell open, the mere idea of diving this ship into the water caused me to shiver. Goofy seemed to listen, driving the ship closer towards the surface of the world.

“But….it’s filled with water,” Sora pointed out the obvious, “We’ll drown if we go in there!”

A few moments, Donald returned with a rather large book in his position. Sora and I shared a glance as Donald finally dropped the book on one of the chairs. He opened the book, flipping through several pages as I raised a brow. He was pulling out that magic book of his, the same one that helped us change our looks for Halloween Town.

“Not with my magic, we won’t! Just leave it to me!” Donald reassured proudly, his eyes skimming through the pages. I rubbed my arm awkward, darting my attention back to Sora who seemed to be more focused towards the water-filled world.

“I don’t feel safe about this,” I whispered to Sora. Sora looked back to me then to Donald, giving an uneasy smile. “Well, Donald did do it before, I mean, it’s just water, we shouldn’t drown or anything, hehe….heh,” Sora’s laugh at the end basically killed me. I feel like he’s not sure how we’ll be able to survive either.

“Oh don’t worry fellas. Donald knows what he’s doing!” Goofy reassured, wrapping an arm around both of our shoulders and patted us. I smiled sheepishly but when Donald slammed the book shut, I gulped nervously.

“This should be easy enough,” Donald commented, fixing his sleeves. “All right, here we go!” Donald pulled his wand and waved it, light beginning to build on the tip. It began to spread, engulfing the room in a blinding light.

[Atlantica]

I felt weird. I don’t know what but I just felt weird. It wasn’t the same experience I felt when I first went to Halloween Town, no, this felt more….bizarre. About a minute of this weirdness later, the light died down and I was thrusted forward into air…or more like swimming into the water. I blinked a few moments, trying to take in what was going on.

A simple calculations was already trying to work up to the point where I could understand this. Water plus Michelle equals drowning??

I gasped, watching air bubbles escape my lungs and float gently upwards. I blinked wildly, trying to decipher how this seriously worked. The water didn’t seem like it was clogging anything, it felt like air honestly to me. I inhaled carefully, gently brushing my throat noticing how it really was like how I thought it was. Water was now my oxygen. That’s….that’s really awesome.

“Whoa! This is weird!” I turned my head seeing Sora pass by…with a tail. Oh yeah, he’s a merman now but still. My head tilted, watching as Sora’s tail flicked through the water, his arms swimming powerfully in order to move around. I guess he didn’t know how to move his tail. Wait….what do I look like….?

I shot my attention down towards my legs—err. No, no, it’s a tail now. It was a similarly matching tail like Sora’s, a dark blue that had spots of grey along the dorsal fin down to the fins. I then looked to my stomach, immediately flustered that was showing. Oh hell no, hell no, change back, change back! I have way too much flubber on me—well….150…..it’s not….bad?

REASSURE YOURSELF! NO ONE IS GOING TO CARE RIGHT NOW.

I poked at the dark blue shells that covered my chest, rather impressed that these shells managed to do the job as both sports bras and regular bras! Support the boobs and conceal from those who shouldn’t stare. Nice job.

I sighed in relief, allowing myself to fall backwards and float gently on my back. I stared up towards the surface, smiling at how the light reflected in the water. It was gorgeous. I smiled and began to move my arms back, focusing on my tail as I moved. It felt really weird. Honestly the best way I could describe it in the non-creepiest way was that my legs were stuck together. They were in balance with one another and needed to be used together in order to swim faster.

I quirked my lips, moving my legs as if I was in the pool, cept this time I had to keep my legs together. I exhaled, feeling what I assumed was my knee joints and looked down seeing my tail flicker in my movements. It seemed pretty weak but…I WAS GETTING IT!

I smiled brightly, stopping my swimming and dove down, my tail swimming powerfully. I twirled gently, grinning brightly at how simple it pretty much was. Ow! Oh! I feel sore. My lips twitched and I decided to take it easy to let my body handle the adjustment. In the meanwhile, I turned to watch Donald, having half of his body as octopus tentacles, slowly but surely sink upside down.

“Wow, your head really is an anchor,” I teased. I could already notice Donald’s face grow a shade redder, flapping his arms quickly to fix himself right side up.

“What?!” Donald demanded, flapping further to finally reach my level. I smirked, blowing a small cherry and swum upwards to avoid his mini-steam session.

“Wow Michelle, you’re really good at this already.” Sora complemented. I reached by his side, smiling gently. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon, just imagining you’re swimming at home,” I tipped. Sora laughed, rubbing his neck.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, it’s so weird,” Sora said as Goofy swam upside down….and backwards. I was kind of more worried for Goofy then anyone right now.

“Don’t leave me behind!”

I stopped swimming and bumped my head into Goofy by accident. A red crab swam quickly to where we were, looking quickly behind him.

“Ariel! Let’s hurry girl!” He instructed hastily before bumping into Donald.

He quickly screamed like a girl and swam in the opposite direction. I looked over at Sora and raised a brow. A girl then appeared along with a fish that was yellow with blue stripes as the crab zoomed past her and hid saying something so fast I didn’t understand one word he said. Well look at that, finally get to meet Ariel, Sebastian, and Flounder.

“Relax Sebastian. They don’t look like one of them” She exclaimed calmly.

“Right, Flounder?” Flounder looked cautiously at all of us before he looked at Ariel. “I don’t know. There’s something weird about them.” He said sheepishly hiding behind Ariel. Sora started nervously laughing. “What do you mean?” Sora asked.

Ariel put a hand on her chin and hummed thoughtfully as she examined Sora. “They do seem…..a little different” She admitted and swam up to me. “Where you from?” She asked. Uh…

“We’re from kind of far away,” I admitted, smiling sheepishly. Eh it sounded convincing enough.

“Yeah and we’re not really used to these waters.” Sora added. Ariel smiled sweetly. “Oh, I see. In that case—” Her eyes narrowed to Sebastian and Donald who were having a stare/glare down. “Sebastian can show you how we swim around here.” She finished and Sebastian made a rejecting kind of noise.

“Ariel, King Triton will not like this!” He exclaimed.

“Oh don’t worry, Sebastian,” She reassured “They seem nice enough.”

“Easy for you to say…” He murmured low enough for her not to hear. He then turned to see Sora trying to swim but he kept having some difficulties, Donald was sinking again while Goofy and I were doing pretty well on our own.

“Okay, it’s time you learn how to swim properly.” He said, pointing to Sora and Donald.

It felt so weird moving with a tail but I guess it’s a good thing that I always swim a lot. Glancing over at Goofy I couldn’t help but wonder how the heck did he manage to swim as a turtle?

“Good Job” Sebastian said as Sora really getting the hang of it. “Now let’s move on to self defense”

Ariel gasped loudly and pointed towards where they came from to show heartless was coming towards us. “Here too?” I whispered to Donald who pulled his wand out and Goofy had his shield on his back. Sebastian shrieked and turned. “Class is over. Good luck!” He said swimming away past Sora.

“This defiantly is going to be interesting” I muttered and my keyblade flashed into my hands. Sora swam forward and slashed at the jellyfish like heartless.

“Blizzardra” Donald said casting it at them. Goofy spun in a circle with his shield on his back, crashing into the heartless and I tossed my keyblade, hitting the remaining two heartless. I blinked a few times.

“Wow, even if we’re underwater we still rock!” I cheered lightly as my keyblade disappeared. Ariel returned from where ever she disappeared too and so did Flounder and Sebastian.

“Those creatures chased us here.” She exclaimed. “Oh, no! Those monsters might be heading for the palace, too!” Sebastian pointed out in horror. Ariel’s eyes widen in high alert.

“We’d better head back right away!” She decided and was ready to swim off before Flounder stopped her. “But, wh-what if we run into more on our way back?” He asked.

She paused then turned to us. “I’m sorry, but we need your help. Please come to the palace with us.” She asked Sora. She was giving him a sad puppy face, something no one could resist.

“Um alright” Sora agreed unsurely. Ariel’s expression lit up and she smiled brightly. “Okay let’s go” She was about to swim off again when she stopped. “So what are your names? I forgot to ask” She smiled meekly and I smiled back.

“I’m Sora” “Donald” “Goofy” Michelle”

“I’m Ariel, now that introductions are done; we can go!” She swam off and we followed her as well.

“So where are we hurrying off to?” I asked Ariel as we swam past boulders underwater. “Back to my home in Atlantica.” She answered.

“Where’s that?” Sora asked. Sebastian, who was holding onto Flounder’s tail, looked at Sora like he was crazy. Sora noticed him staring and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Like we said before, we’re from REALLY far away” Sora repeated. Ariel turned her head to us, smiling widely. “Oh you’ll love it! We’re almost there!” After swimming into a tunnel, I wonder where all the heartless were. None appeared yet causing me to get very suspicious.

Exiting the tunnel, my eyes widen and a ‘whoa’ escaped from my mouth. Atlantica…is….amazing. Lights filled the waters from the buildings where merman and mermaids lived. Sea creatures that lived in the big old ocean where swimming past us, seahorses, manta rays, and even a few sea turtles swam high above us.

The city was loud and buzzing with noises, also music could be heard from a certain part of the city. It’s official; I prefer traveling to different worlds and kicking heartless ass then going on vacation!

“THIS IS WHERE YOU LIVE!?” Sora gasped loudly. Ariel shook her head and pointed towards a large palace. Donald quacked loudly and Goofy tilted his head. “There?” Goofy asked Ariel and she nodded.

“You live in a palace!?” I asked her in amazement. She once again nodded.

“Ariel is the princess!” Flounder pointed out causing Ariel to smile shyly. I knew all of us were shocked, my eyes widen and we all said the same thing at the same time. “You’re a princess!?” We shouted in unison. She twirled a piece of her red hair around her finger shyly.

“Did I mention to forget that?” She began to swim a little faster with Sebastian and Flounder following. I didn’t move as I looked at the others who had a disbelief look on their faces. “Ariel’s a princess!?” Sora repeated in disbelief. “Who knew…?” Donald murmured and began swimming.

As we began swimming, I noticed something was wrong. I noticed mermaids and mermen alike were quickly swimming into their houses, seemingly scared of something. I stopped swimming for one second and looked around. For a second, I saw something zoom pass a couple of rocks.

I raised a brow. Okay, this is becoming kind of weird. “So does that mean Ariel may be in trouble?” Goofy asked quietly. Sora raised a brow and Donald’s eyes widen.

“Well Heartless ARE here…” Donald trailed off. I put a hand to my chin and hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe we should stay here for a little while and make sure Ariel is okay” I suggested quietly for the trio to hear me.

Sora eyes fell to the ocean floor. He was probably thinking about what had happened to Alice and Jasmine. Jeez, I knew that wasn’t going to happen to Ariel but hey anything could happen these days.

We all nodded in agreement and continued after Ariel.

“Hey fellas!” Goofy said loudly and everyone stopped.

My eyes widen when we saw 5 heartless appearing. Ariel’s hands flew up to her mouth to cover her loud gasp but Sebastian made a gasp loud enough for everyone. “Heartless!!” Sora said and took out his keyblade.

“Ariel, get going!” Sora ordered but suddenly a large heartless appeared causing me and Donald to gasp. “That’s a big heartless” I pointed out and looked at Sora. “Are you sure you want to take care of that now?”

Ariel shook her head roughly and said “Come on! We’re almost to the palace!” “Hurry! We’ll catch up” The three of them quickly began swimming while we had our weapons out.

“Let’s take out these heartless then get the heck out of here!” Donald decided and held his wand tightly in his hand. I pulled my keyblade out and nodded.

“Blizzardra!” the ice spell hit the Screwdriver heartless before it had a chance to stab us with its lance. Sora swung at two of the heartless, destroying one by sending it hurtling towards the floor. Donald casted several spells while Goofy spun around.

A screwdriver came at me like a torpedo, its spear pointing straight at me. I blocked the attack and swung down at the head causing it to lose focus. “Fira!” The spell finished it off

Suddenly, the bigger heartless, Aquatank let out an echoing roar that sent bolts of lightning everywhere. “WHOA!” Everyone barely dodged it and I looked at where we were. They were trying to back us into a wall. “Guys! Let’s go!” Sora said.

Dang. Only 5 minutes of fighting and we’re retreating. AHHHH! We quickly caught up with Ariel as I finally noticed citizens quickly taking cover before the heartless came. “This way!” Ariel took a quick turn into a long hall like room.

And before I knew it, the heartless that were chasing us were suddenly destroyed by a power lightning attack. I turned swiftly to see black ashes disappearing into nothing.

“That was too close” a deep male voice said and I gulped silently. Turning around, we turned to see Triton, holding his trident close and looking down at all of us. I could hear Donald gulp and Ariel sigh in relief.

“As long as I have my trident, I will not tolerate those creatures inside the palace.” He announced loudly. I looked at Sora and raised a brow. I’m actually very afraid right now. Ariel swam up to him and smiled.

“Daddy!” She greeted brightly but Triton sighed. Already I knew I was cringing back, inching behind Goofy and Donald. Ariel seemed to be getting the hint too as her excited face dropped.

“Oh Ariel. When will you listen? It’s dangerous out there!” His voice boomed and Ariel cringed from his loud tone. She was going to say something but couldn’t think of something.

“Strange creatures lurk outside.” He lectured before catching notice of us. Immediately I waved meekishly, slowly sinking to hide further behind Donald and Goofy. Then his glance went to Sebastian who was trying to avoid his glance. In fact, it looked like he was about to try and make a quick mistake before Triton made a small, expected noise.

“Sebastian…?” He began and Sebastian made a small ‘ek’ but quickly swam to us, clearing his throat and held a claw towards King Triton. “Behold. You swim before the ruler of the seas: His Majesty, King Triton” Sebastian exclaimed.

Triton raised a brow at us and looked at Ariel and Sebastian. “And who are they?” He asked. Ariel quickly went to our defense. “They helped us fight off those creatures” Ariel said. Triton gave us a strict look, making me gulp silently. His stare could kill if you were looking at him face to face. “They don’t look familiar.” Triton acknowledged.

“We’re from an ocean very far away” Sora explained.

“Yup. We cam to find the Keyhole” goofy said as he swam past Sora. My eyes widen in shock and looked at Goofy who swam next me. “Goofy!” I whispered to him. “The what?” Triton demanded his eyes widen in alarm.

“What’s that?” Ariel asked curiously swimming up to Goofy and I. I gave Goofy a look but he started talking again. “Well, it’s a-"

“There’s no such thing. Certainly not here!” Triton cut off angrily. Ariel turned to him and gave him a look.

“But, Daddy….” Triton gave her a stern look before saying “Ariel, not another word!” She bit her lip and avoided his stare. “You are not to leave the palace. Is that clear?” He asked. Ariel gave Triton one last look before swimming away.

I held my breath for the longest of time, the tension was seriously thick. I looked at Triton and gave a small, nervous smile and quickly raced after Ariel.

I swam through the halls; almost bumping into a few maids by accident. “Michelle!” I turned my head to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy quickly swimming over to me. “I can’t believe that was Ariel’s dad, he’s incredibly intimating,” I expressed, crossing my arms over my chest. Sora shrugged unsurely about what to say.

“But something’s up…didn’t he act strange when Goofy mentioned about the keyhole?” Sora asked. I nodded and placed a hand to my chin. “Maybe he knows where it is!” Donald exclaimed.

I shook my head and looked at where the Throne room was. “If he does then I’m not going to be the one that asks him where it is” I told them and ran my hand against my tail. It felt so weird. Sora and Donald looked at the Throne Room then at each other, giving looks like ‘I’m not going in there’

“Hey, what don’t we ask Ariel” Goofy suggested. I looked at Goofy and shrugged. “Only problem is is that we don’t know where she is…” I trailed off when I heard a ‘psst’ noise coming from a pillar near us.

Sora raised a brow and swam closer to the pillar. Ariel appeared from behind it and we swam over to Sora. “Ariel?” Sora asked. Ariel ‘sshed’ him immediately and looked down the hall to make sure no one was around.

“Follow me, I need to show you guys something” She said. “But what about your dad?” I asked concerningly. I don’t want to get busted by HIM any time soon. O.o I really don’t.

“Oh it’ll be all right, now come on” She grabbed my wrist and began dragging me off. Um help!? Great, I’m becoming the worry/nervous one again. Sora, Donald, and Goofy quickly followed.

Leaving the city, we went to the outskirts of Atlantica. I was still being dragged but now I was swimming at least. But she sure has a grip for sure. Finally we stopped in front of a boulder. “Hold on a minute” She and Sora went over to the boulder and began pushing it out the way.

Once it was out the way, Ariel looked to us and smiled. “In here” Swimming inside, we were led into a secret cavern with rows and rows full of objects. Knick knacks alike were arranged everywhere, forks and spoons were in a box and even a globe was in here.

“Look at all the wonderful things Flounder and I’ve collected. I think it’s all from the outside world.” Ariel exclaimed. She began swimming towards a treasure chest and glided her hand on top of it. “Someday, I’m going to see what’s out there. I want to see other worlds.” She paused.

She turned to us and tilted her head. “Does that sound strange?” She asked. “Nope” I said and crossed my arms in front of me. “No not at all. I used to feel the same way” Sora said. Ariel raised a brow. “Used to?” Sora eyes widen for a quick moment.

“I mean……I still do” He said making a quick comeback.

I rolled my eyes and Ariel smiled. “Hey, why don’t we try looking for that Keyhole you were talking about?” Ariel suggested.

“But your father said…” Sora began but stopped when Ariel frowned. “Oh, he treats me like a little girl. He never wants to let me do anything. He just……He just doesn’t understand” She said, turning herself a little.

I titled my head unsure of what to say. I looked over at Sora who had the same look. Ariel looked pretty determined so I shrugged. “All right then.” Sora said. Ariel smiled brightly.

“Come on then. I may know of a place we can find it” Ariel said.

Ariel explained to us where we were going. An abandon ship that she and Flounder normally go to find all of her ‘thingy-a-bobs’. That doesn’t sound safe. But she insist that’s its perfectly fine. Ariel bit her lip when Flounder reminded her of something.

“But Ariel, you know there’s a strong current there. And especially with all the heartless, I don’t know if we’ll get—” “Oh relax Flounder” She exclaimed brightly, giving him a small smile to him while Sora raised a brow.

“What current?” He asked and Ariel turned to him.

“Where we’re heading is an area that’s kinda far off from here. It would be easy to get there but there’s a pretty strong current there” She said.

“So how do we get pass it?” I asked. Flounder then swam up to us. “There’s this nice dolphin that swims around and normally takes us through the current. The only thing I’m worried about is that he may not be here because of all the heartless” Flounder explained.

“So will he come?” Donald said and Ariel shrugged. “Well, it’s worth a try” She exclaimed. She put her fingers to her lips and whistled loudly.

We all looked around. That’s when something swiftly passed us. My hair got in the way so I didn’t get a good chance to see what it was. Ariel pushed her hair out of the way when something suddenly was in her arms. “Flounder?” She asked and he looked up at her.

“He came back!” Flounder said happily. I turned and noticed a dolphin swimming around in a circle, happily giving out some noises.

I gasped and smiled brightly. A dolphin! EH! :D I love dolphins!! The dolphin swam up to me and nudged its nose at me playfully. I think I’m going to cry. It’s so cute! I began petting his head and he let out a happy cry. Ariel looked at the dolphin and smiled. “Do you mind helping us a second?” She asked him. The dolphin nodded and Ariel smiled. “Great!”

The dolphin stood still and Ariel indicated to its fin. “Just hold onto its fin”

Sora looked at Ariel. “Oh don’t worry, he’s nice” But trying to fit five was hard. Goofy was really having trouble so Donald had to hold him along with Sora. “Are we good?” Ariel asked.

Everyone gave a nod then the dolphin shot off in a direction with Sora, Donald, Goofy, and I giving a startle cry from the quick speed.

The dolphin swam into a current and everyone held tightly onto its fin. It was hard to hold on with something pushing at you.

Soon the dolphin came to a stop and we all released it. He then turned and left us alone in the open ocean. “Thanks!” Ariel called out. She then turned to us and smiled. “Let’s go!” I looked over at Goofy and we continued swimming.

We entered a large open area with a large sunken ship. Its mast was tilted forward, seemingly like it was ready to fall and by the looks of it; it seems this was here for hundreds of years from all the moss and barnacles growing at the bottom.

“Here we are!” Ariel smiled and we all looked down towards it. “A ship?” Goofy asked and Ariel nodded. “Flounder and I go down there all the time. Maybe it’s in that ship” Ariel exclaimed and began swimming down towards it. I gulped and looked around.

I didn’t like it here. Too open and too ominous. “Hey,” I turned my head to see Sora staring at me. “You coming?” He asked. I looked up and slowly shook my head. He swam up to me and raised a brow. “What’s wrong? You scared?” He teased.

“I got a really bad feeling about this” I told him as he folded his arms across his chest. “Why?” “You do realize we’re in the ocean right?” He nodded and looked at me wondering what I was going at. “What kind of sea creatures live here that are dangerous?” I asked him.

He raised a questionable brow but he decided to take a crack at it. “Umm….jellyfishes?” He answered unsurely. I stared at him deadpanned. He lived on an island, didn’t he!? Shouldn’t he know the dangers of the ocean!? I shook my head while Sora sighed.

“Come on Michelle, don’t worry, if something happens we can handle it” Sora said with confidence, putting a hand on my shoulder. I sighed in defeat and followed Sora to the ship. “Ever seen a shark?” I decided to ask. I swear I heard Sora sigh.

“No” “Then we better be careful, Sora!”

We entered the ship from hatch entering into the lower parts. Ariel was examining shelves that held empty objects along with Flounder. Donald and Goofy were looking at some empty chests. “Did you find anything?” I asked. Ariel shook her head and put a hand to her chin.

“Hmm” She swam around to the large window and looked around there. Sora and Donald followed her and began looking. I swam over to Goofy who found an object on the ground. “Is that a gummi?” I asked him. “I think it is” Goofy exclaimed.

I picked it up and examined it closely. It looked like that navi gummi we showed Cid that day. I smiled brightly and turned, about to tell Sora and Donald what we found. But that’s when a shadow passed the small window me and Goofy were close to.

I turned to Goofy then to the window and gulped. “What was that?” I asked him and he shrugged.

Goofy looked out and I turned to the window that Sora, Donald, and Ariel were at. Flounder swam over to us and he began tugging at my arm. “I have a bad feeling about this” Flounder said quietly and I nodded in agreement. Something was very wrong.

Something was coming but I don’t know what. I knew something was out but the water was too blurry and whatever it was was too far away to tell. Ariel came to the window and then smiled. “Hey, mind helping me with this?” Ariel said to Sora. A chest was under a couple fallen pieces of wood.

I swam closer to the window when I noticed what passed the smaller window. My eyes widen in fear and I started stuttering out the words but they came out in a complete mess. Donald heard me and turned his head. “What’s wrong?” He asked and Flounder began doing the exact same thing causing Ariel and Sora to turn their attention to us.

I finally slapped my face hard and pointed to the window. “SHARK!” I screamed loudly. Ariel and Sora’s eyes widen and they turned towards the window to see a dark figure approaching very quickly.

“MOVE IT!” Donald yelled loudly and everything after that happened so fast that I couldn’t comprehend. One moment I was pointing at the window next I see the windows shatter into thousands of pieces, the shark smashed into the glass, chomping with its huge teeth, nearly snapping at Sora but he managed to move.

Everyone freaked out loudly and avoided the window. I think I heard Donald shot a spell causing the shark to back up slowly and leave the ship. Then it went silent.

I hid behind the stairs and a huge box, clutching Goofy for dear life. “Is it gone?” My voice echoed in the ship. Donald popped his head from the barrel he was hiding in, holding his wand very tightly. “Yup” He said.

I let go of Goofy and we swam to Donald’s side, holding our weapons just in case. I let out a heavy sigh of relief when I noticed the shark was gone. My heart was beating so hard, I thought it was going to pop out. “Sora! Ariel! Flounder! Are you guys okay!?” I asked loudly, looking around for where they could’ve hidden.

A shelf that was leaning on the wall close to falling onto the floor was suddenly pushed and Sora came from behind it. Ariel, clutching a hyperventilating Flounder, swam from the bottom of the boat. “Are you okay, Sora?” Donald asked Sora. Sora looked somewhat shaken up but nodded and regained his posture.

“What WAS that exactly?!” Sora demanded. “Sora that was a shark. In the ocean; don’t worry about jellyfishes, worry about SHARKS THAT ARE TRYING TO EAT YOU!” I sarcastically panicked, trying to keep my voice down. He gave me an annoyed look but shrugged it off.

Ariel cautiously looked down at the chest that was lying on the ground close to us, knocked away when the shark made its dramatic entrance. She opened it up and pulled out a crystal triton. Her once shocked expression turned to amazement as she gazed at the crystal. The crystal shined brilliantly even in the dark murky waters we were in.

“It’s amazing!” She exclaimed brightly. “Wow” I muttered and swam over to her. “Wonder why something like this would be here…?”

“Hey, isn’t there something in your Grotto that has a shape like that too?” Flounder asked and Ariel looked at him then back at the triton. She examined it closely and her eyes widen slightly. “Yeah, I think I know what you’re talking about Flounder! It does look like it!” She admitted.

She then looked at Sora and smiled. “Maybe this can help with finding it!” She exclaimed. She pulled out a brown bag that she had strapped around her and placed it in. “Now how are we going to get out?” I asked. Donald gulped, looking out the broken glass window saying “That’s shark still swimming out there”

I crossed my arms and looked out the window. “Let’s just beat it and then swim for it” Ariel suggested. I looked to her like she was insane. “It’ll be okay.” “I really don’t want to go out there after what happened!” I said nervously. Ariel put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile. “I’m sure we’ll be able to do it!”

I frowned for a minute before letting out a sigh in defeat.

“Let’s just make this quick” I insisted and everyone gave an agreeable nod. Sora was the first to go out, his keyblade in hand just in case. Nothing really happened so Ariel and I went out along with Donald and Goofy. So far, so good.

Suddenly I start imagining hearing the jaws music. Duuuuuuun nun. Duuuuuuuuuuuuun nun. Dun, Dun, Dun, Dun, Dun. That stupid tune was repeating in my head so I turned my head slowly. Oh please let the music be wrong!

Oh I hate my life. The shark was swimming to us; jaws open wide showing all its sharp white teeth. Why did I have to imagine the jaws music!??!?!

“IT’S BACK!!” I yelled warningly. Ariel spun in a circle and gasped loudly. I immediately threw my Lurebreaker keyblade and used Strike Raid. It smacked into the mouth causing it to stop its forceful charge. I caught the keyblade and grinned.

“Watch out!” Sora warned everyone as the shark’s red eyes came to stare directly at me. I gulped loudly and Ariel grabbed my arm. “Let’s move!” She said loudly and pulled me. The shark bolted in our direction but we moved quickly. “Thundara!” I yelled with a swift move of my hand.

The lightning managed to hit the shark, paralyzing it for a second but it didn’t last long. Goofy spun right at it, smacking him in the face but that only made it angry. It opened its mouth and tried to chomp on Goofy but Donald sent a blizzard spell before it could get him.

The shark turned its head to Donald but suddenly two keyblades smacked it in the gills causing it to have miniature frenzy. Its tail swung in all directions and smacked Ariel and I away. It finally regained its posture and looked to Sora. Sora swam up to avoid it from attacking him so easily.

I moved away from Ariel who was casting Cure on Donald and herself when I threw my keyblade at the shark to get it away from Sora. “That was probably the worst idea I have ever came up with” I thought when I saw it come at me. My keyblade didn’t come back to me right away so I tried moving.

The shark smashed into me, cutting me on the arm with one of its pointed teeth. “Damn” I grabbed hold of the wound and with my free hand the keyblade. “I don’t want this shark to go all shark frenzy, smelling blood.” I thought hoping that the blood wouldn’t travel to far into the water.

That’s when an idea occurred to me. I let my hand off the wound and pushed the bloody water in the direction of the shark. I slowly began swimming back to the ship when I noticed the shark suddenly stop trying to attack everyone. It then turned in my direction and even where I was, I could see its pupils had dilated. ‘My mistake. This is probably the worst idea I ever came up with’

It sprinted in my direction and I swam quickly to the mast of the ship. ‘Come on!’ I thought. At the same time I was thinking this was my ‘in denial’ way of suicide. “Michelle!” I heard Sora yell and tightened my fist. “Just get ready to use your best thunder spell!” I shouted loudly. “AND DON’T MISS FOR MY SAKES!”

Oh boy. The shark was coming right at me and my back was hitting against the mast. Only in a matter of seconds would it come. The shark opened its jaws widely and I threw my keyblade right into the mouth. It smashed a few of its teeth and I swam highly up the mast where the ropes dangled. The shark looked up irritably and followed in pursuit.

I gulped and stayed in position. It opened its mouth and I quickly dodged. Its mouth snapped the part of the mast I was on it half and in doing so the ropes fell, tying up the shark in a mess. “NOW!” I yelled and pointed my keyblade at it.

“THUNDARA!” A combination of powerful lightning struck the shark and since it was tangled in the ropes, it couldn’t escape or move to shake off the effect. It finally went limp, its flipper still twitching. I breathed heavily as I looked at it from high above.

“Michelle!” Ariel suddenly tackled me in a hug, nearly knocking the anxiety out of my system and gave me a stern look. “That was really risky you know!”

“I know, but hey! We can swim for it now!” I joked and she smiled softly, giving one more squeeze. She looked at my arm and her eyes widen slightly. “Here!” She used a small cure spell and the wound closed up but the scar still remained.

Sora and Goofy swam over to me and then the shark. Flounder swam over with Donald, smirking gently as they both was face to face with the shark.

“Heh, now he doesn’t look that tough!” Flounder exclaimed with Donald by his side. The shark twitched causing Flounder and Donald to shriek and immediately retreat behind us. I gave a nervous glance to Ariel and Sora who nodded in agreement.

“Let’s hurry out of here!” Ariel suggested and we quickly left the murky area. Getting to Ariel’s grotto was so much easier than getting to the Sunken Ship. I let out a sigh of relief when we reached the calm depths.

Entering her grotto, Ariel smiled brightly. Engraved along the wall of her grotto was a shape that matched the crystal triton.

“I knew I saw this shape before!” She said cheerfully. She opened her brown bag and pulled the crystal triton from it. She placed it into the wall. It fit perfectly. “It fits!” I exclaimed happily.

If only I knew that someone was behind us watching us with a very pissed off expression.

“Ariel!”

I gulped loudly when I heard that loud booming voice. Everyone froze in place while Ariel turned her head to see who it was. It was obvious to find Triton swim into the Grotto, his eyes locking onto all of us immediately.

“Uh oh” I mouthed to Donald who slowly nodded in agreement.

“Ariel, you’ve disobeyed me again!” King Triton scowled, entering Ariel’s grotto. Ariel eyes widen and she moved a little in front of the crystal. Probably trying to hide it from his gaze. “Daddy I can explain—” Ariel began but her father look was very angry. “I told you not to leave the palace!” He said loudly.

Ariel cringed and turned her head. That was just enough for him to see the triton placed in the wall. His eyes widen and I knew automatically we were in trouble. Uh oh.

My eyes widen and I looked at Sora. “We should move” I suggested quietly and tugged at his arm. He raised a brow and I pointed at King Triton’s triton that he was gripping tightly in his hand. Sora’s eyes widen and we slowly backed away. King Triton took out his triton and it began to start glowing brightly. Ariel’s eyes widen in utter horror and looked between the crystal triton and her father.

“Daddy no!” Ariel pleaded. He ignored her completely and a bolt of electricity shot at the crystal, shattering it into thousands of pieces. Ariel gasped loudly, tears beginning to form into her eyes. I looked at Triton then to Ariel, suddenly feeling very sympathetic towards her. Though she didn’t listen to him, he really shouldn’t have done that.

She turned to look at her dad and shook her head slowly. “How could you” She said quietly. She then swam past him and exited the grotto. “Ariel!” Flounder rushed after her and I linked my hands together and sighed.

Once Ariel was out of range to hear anything else, King Triton turned to us and I gulped. “As for you four, you’re not from another ocean. You’re from another world. Aren’t you?” King Triton demanded calmly.

Sora blinked a few times, completely taken aback by it. “So you must also be the keybearers” He added and I stared at Sora. How does he know this all!? And more importantly, how long did he know about this?

“Huh? How did you know?” Sora questioned lightly. Triton frowned and crossed his arms. “You may fool Ariel but you can’t fool me. You don’t know your dorsal fin from your tail” King Triton said. Sora scratched his head in slight embarrassment.

Triton looked between Sora and I and hummed. “As the keybearers you must already know one must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds” He scowled. I crossed my arms and frowned. “Of course we know that but—” I began but stopped when King Triton gave me a look.

“You have violated that principle! The keybearer shatters peace and brings ruin” He continued and I gasped loudly. Well that was a mean accusation. Sora looked just as shock as I was.

“Aw, Sora and Michelle’s not like that” Goofy defended and Donald nodded in agreement. King Triton sighed lightly before looking at us with a stern authority look again.

“I thank you for saving my daughter nut there’s no room in my ocean for you or your keys” He turned then left the Grotto without another word. I felt my breath shake as I put a hand to my chest.

I still don’t understand. How did King Triton know about the keyblades and keyhole and everything else like that? If I’m right, I don’t think anyone from the outside worlds came here. Did they? I wonder what had happened those many years ago.

Sora raised his hand and his keyblade flashed to his hands. Donald looked at Sora worriedly. “It’s alright Sora” Donald said.

I frowned and crossed my arms. “The key bearers don’t always bring ruins.” I exclaimed. “I mean, we helped a lot of people because we came.” I turned to Sora who still seemed a little down. “Maybe something happened that made him get that idea” Goofy suggested and I nodded. But what happened that made it happen?

Sora closed his eyes and his keyblade disappeared. “Thanks guys” Sora said after opening his eyes and smiled at us. I nodded and looked out the Grotto. “Hey, let’s go try to find Ariel; I think she’s still mad about her dad” Sora suggested. “And we should probably say good bye since I think we’re not welcomed here anymore” I muttered sadly. With  everyone nodding in agreement, we decided to make our way to find Ariel....where ever she might have swam away to.


	17. Harmony

“Ariel! Ariel! Where are you?” I shouted, looking around.

Goofy poked his head in a bunch of seaweed and repeated the same thing. We have been searching for Ariel for what felt like hours. I groaned, sinking my head into the sand floor below, finding that Ariel obviously wanted to be lost. She was doing a damn good job at the moment to keep it that way.

I huffed, continued to search around for any signs of Ariel. Honestly ANYTHING would’ve been a sign to me. I looked around and noticed something on a rock. Well speaking of anything. It shined brightly so I swam over to it and picked it up carefully. It was a small piece of crystal; it must’ve come from the triton that her father destroyed.

Or something else entirely, I’m not sure but…it did shimmer like the crystal did. I blinked slowly, rubbing the crystal between my fingers.

“Hey Goofy” I called out and Goofy pulled his head from the seaweed to reveal he had a new set of hair causing me to sweat drop.

“Doesn’t this look like what the crystal triton was made of?” I asked him. Goofy tilted his head and then nodded. “Yup! I wonder what it was doing way over here.”

I looked at the piece in my hand and sighed.

“I don’t know but I have a bad feeling about it” I said nervously and swam up to look at Goofy. “We should find Sora and Donald quick—” We were about to leave when we heard a distressed cry. “Huh?” Goofy turned his head and looked around. I blinked slowly, noticing something was darting around in the water and heading towards our direction.

“HEEEELLLPPP!” In a quick blur, I was suddenly knocked backwards by the thing that was screaming. My eyes widen and I looked down to see Flounder. “Flounder?” I questioned in bewilderment. Flounder was shaking so bad he was shaking my entire body. Flounder looked up at me and he looked like he was ready to cry or freak out more.

“What’s wrong?” Goofy asked calmly and Flounder swam away from us and was beginning to swim in a panic. “It’s Ariel! She’s—oh man!” Flounder began and nervously was looking everywhere.

Yup, trouble was always following us again meaning we have to stay in Atlantica! HA! :D Nothing can stop us from meddling!!!

“Okay slow it down Flounder, what’s wrong with Ariel” I asked slowly and as calmly for him to understand. He breathed in and out calmly before looking at us.

“Ariel came here after her father destroyed the crystal triton” Flounder began nervously. “And she was really sad. That’s when Ursula came! She told Ariel she could help her but she told Ariel she had to steal her father’s triton! And she’s doing it right now!” Flounder finished and my eyes widen.

“Whoa, whoa wait!” I stopped Flounder because he was spitting down too many things at the moment. “Ursula was here?!” I repeated.

“Who’s Ursula?” Goofy asked. Flounder panted before looking to Goofy. “A really mean sea witch that Ariel’s dad banished years ago! She wanted to rule the oceans but to do that she needs the triton!” Flounder explained panicky.

Oh no. Ariel is going after the triton next. I looked to Goofy who knew what I was going to say. “Goofy! Find Sora and Donald and we’ll meet you there!” I ordered and Goofy nodded and he swam off. “Flounder let’s go!”

Flounder nodded. Swimming into the city I knew we need to get there quickly.

“Flounder! There ya are! ”We came to a stop when we saw Sebastian nearly slammed into a wall when he swam into us. “Sebastian!” I gasped.

“I was wonderin if ya knew where Ariel went?” Sebastian question when he reached us. I groaned loudly, shaking my head wildly. We needed to move!

“She’s in the palace trying to steal the triton!” I explained. Sebastian eyes bugged out and he screamed in horror causing some citizens to turn their heads and raise a brow. Sebastian immediately covered his mouth with both of his claws and looked around cautiously.

“We need to get back to the Throne room before she could do it!” I explained urgently and Sebastian nodded vigorously.

Now we have Sebastian, shouting and getting the job done to make a clear path for us to get to the palace. Swimming into the palace I heard a loud, cackle of a laugh. “The trident is mine at last!” My eyes widen. That must’ve been Ursula.

“Michelle!” I spun around to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy swim up to us. “And I couldn’t have done it without your help, my dear.”

“Let’s hurry!” Sora insisted and we all swam to the Throne room. Before we got in I heard something from one of the eels. “The keyhole is not here” “WHAT!?” We entered the room seeing Ursula, first impression of her….UHHHH! She’s creeping me out.

She turned her head along with her two eels and smiled deviously. “Why, we have company.” She exclaimed. Ariel lifted her head up and her eyes widen. She was comforting her father who seemed like he took a hit.

“Why I’m afraid you’re a little late handsome” She smirked then disappeared in a cloud of ink/darkness. Can’t tell the difference really.   I gasped and moved forward. “Aero!” The little wind blew the ink out the way and Ariel looked at her father.

“Daddy” Ariel said quietly and held his hand. “The trident. We must get it back.” He said spacing the words out. Sebastian and Flounder swam up to them and I looked to Sora. He had a determined look along with Donald and Goofy. “Ursula uses her cauldron for power” Trident warned us.

I nodded in acknowledgement and looked at Sora. “Come on, let’s go!” Sora said looking at us. “Right!” Donald and Goofy said as I nodded. We left the palace and that’s when something occurred to me.

“So where does this Ursula live anyway?” I asked and the trio stopped. They turned and looked at each other. “I’m not sure but we have to get back the triton” Sora exclaimed and I nodded in agreement.

“Hey! Wait!” I turned my head to see Ariel, Flounder, and Sebastian swimming towards us. “Ariel?” I stared at her in bewilderment. She moves really quickly!

“Wait, I’m going with you!” She insisted and crossed her arms stubbornly. “But Ariel…” Sora started but stopped by Ariel’s intense stare. “My father is hurt and it’s my entire fault. I have to stop Ursula!” Ariel declared. “And we’re here to help stop Ursula too!” Flounder added.

Sebastian nodded and crossed his arms. “That’s right. I’m right behind you, Ariel!” Sebastian backed up. I scratched my head and smiled. Sora smiled too. “So how do we get to where Ursula lives?” Sora asked.

“There’s a secret way of getting to where Ursula lives and I know da place” Sebastian informed us, waving his claw in a gesture to follow. “To the sunken ship! Quickly!”

We swam to the calm waters and grabbed a ride with the dolphin that seemed more than happy to see us again. It gladly gave us a ride across the current and we returned to the dark murky waters of the sunken ship. I went in first to see if ‘jaws cousin’ was here. My eyes wondered around the whole place seeing nothing. I smiled proudly and snickered.

“Looks like he learned the lesson of not messing around with us!” I murmured, grinning brightly. “Alright. The coast is clear” I reported.

Sebastian led the way, heading down to the sea floor. He passed the ship and showed us a large boulder in front of the ocean wall.

“Pass tis rock is how you’ll get to Ursula’s lair!” Sebastian pressed a decorated rock that laid next to the boulder.

The boulder began to shake and slowly began to slide away. It then fully moved out the way, revealing a dark empty path to who knows where. Peering inside, I whistled in shock about how there was absolutely nothing to see. We’re so going to get lost in here.

“Donald, mind lighting us a way” I asked and Donald nodded. His wand lit up a fire and he led the way to where we were going.

Heading through the dark cavern was pretty scary. But soon I saw a light at the end of the tunnel and once we reached it, I gulped. The dark murky water continued on and big noticeable thing was the big, gapping entrance.

“There it is; Ursula’s lair”

“Sure is creepy” Goofy commented. I nodded in agreement. We entered and first thing I noticed were heartless and something on the ground. We took out the heartless with ease but I stopped for a moment to look down at the ground.

“What are those?” I asked and Ariel looked down. A hand flew over her mouth and her eyes widen. They seemed like small, dead flowers…with eyes….that moaned and cried. I felt a shiver run along my back at the mere sound they were making.

“That is what happens to those who make a deal with the nasty sea witch” Sebastian exclaimed. “I’ve only heard rumors but man, this is bad…”

That’s what happened!? You get turned into these little polyps and stay here forever?!

“I wonder if we can help them” I muttered and Sebastian landed on my shoulder. “We can if we get rid of her probably!” Sebastian said almost certain about it. I gulped and continued swimming on forward. I feel bad now o.O. And scared/terrified too.

“Let’s go” Sora and Ariel were the first to swim into Ursula’s lair as we followed. Ursula came out of her conch and glared at us. “Come out! You can’t run!” Donald yelled. Sebastian, who was behind Donald’s head, moved up and nodded.

“Your time has come!” He added loudly. Ursula moved away from her conch and glared directly at the two causing the two to scream like little girls.

“You think you can defeat me!?” She demanded and that’s when everyone prepared themselves for a heck of a fight.

Then those eels came from behind her and came at us. One of the eels slammed into me, knocking me to the wall. “Damn eel!” I yelled hitting the keyblade to the side of its head. The eel glared at me but I swung my keyblade around and readied myself for whatever it go to throw.

Ariel and Sora were taking care of Ursula by trying to stop her from throwing potions into her little cauldron but that was a little difficult since the eels would often get into a fight with them as well. “Thunder!” Donald yelled holding his wand up high.

Both the eels got hit with it but kept moving. What is up with these eels!? They don’t get knocked out do they!? I swam up to Goofy who was handling one of the eels and another was charging at me. “EH!” I ducked down and the one that charged smashed into the wall behind me.

Goofy single handle took out the other one. “BLIZZARA!” I yelled and both of the eels froze. I smiled and punched up in victory. “Get up and fight!” Ursula yelled throwing something into the water. Suddenly the two eels got up again and causing me to gasp loudly.

“What?!” Donald yelled. I slapped my head and groaned in annoyance. “Great. She’s using magic to keep them up” I said.

“Charge!” We all swam at the two and started attacking them. I smashed the keyblade to one of the eels 6 times at least before it got knocked out. I looked to Sora and Ariel who were actually beating her.

“She’s getting tired out” I pointed out as Donald finished knocking out the eel again. “But she’s still not out”

“We need to do something” Donald said.

Then Sebastian came to his shoulder. “I heard his Majesty saying to defeat Ursula by using her cauldron” He said. We looked to the cauldron; it seemed that it was glowing blue. “Didn’t he say we had to use magic to stop the cauldron?” I asked Donald.

Donald nodded and I looked at the cauldron. Donald and I looked at each other then to the cauldron then back to each other. “Think that’ll work?” I asked him.

“It’s worth a try” Donald answered and pulled his wand out. “Get up and fight!” Ursula yelled again. The two eels got up again and charged at us.

Goofy spun out and knocked the two eels and I raised by keyblade up. “Thundara!” Donald and I yelled, electrocuting both eels. I slashed down at one eel hitting it to the wall and then used blizzard before it got knocked out.

“Think you can take care of the other one Goofy?” I asked turning to him.

He nodded and spun to the other one, hitting it with his shield. “Alright Donald now what?”

“Just wait! I noticed it may only work when she throws a second vile in” Donald said and I gulped. Do we really have time to wait? I looked seeing her throw one in and the water in the cauldron began to glow.

“We seriously need to do something” I said getting impatient. Donald kept watching and waited for the perfect moment. He saw her toss another vile right out her hand. “Now! Use gravity!” He said waving his wand. I pointed my keyblade to the cauldron and focused.

“Force!” I yelled casting gravity along with Donald. The cauldron began to glow an unusual color and Ursula gasped loudly before a puff of smoke exploded from it. “No!” I heard her yell from the smoke. I could see Goofy spinning around and knocking both of the eels away.

When the smoke cleared, her two eels disappeared in a dark green smoke. She gasped loudly and then shot an angry glare at us.

“You’ll pay for this!” She then swam off and blocked the way to follow her. “HEY!” I clenched my hand tightly and growled.

“She got away” Sora sighed in annoyance but Ariel had a determined look on her face. She faced Sora and I and put her hands on her waist.

“Let’s go! We need to retrieve the triton and beat Ursula” Ariel said. I raised a brown and pointed backwards at the conch Ursula used to escape us.

“We can’t follow her in there. It’s all clogged up. ” I asked. Ariel smirked and shook her head. “There’s only one other place she could have gone to. Come on follow me” she insisted.

*Obtained the Mermaid Kick ability*

….Did I really hear that? I looked around but shrugged it off. I better not start hearing this forever.

We swam after her, knowing she knew where she was. We had left the Ursula’s lair and returned back to the strong current causing me to raise a brow. She’s not serious is she? But hey, we’re stronger now we can swim through this. XD

“Over there,” Ariel said and we all nodded. RUSHHHHH! I rushed through that water, kicking my tail as hard as it can and tried not to get blown away by the current. O.o I almost did too unless for grabbing Sora’s hand. “Thanks”

The waters were getting darker as we headed towards a wide open part of the ocean. I looked around cautiously but Sora pointed out with his keyblade to show where Ursula was.

“You pathetic fool! I rule the seas now!” She yelled. She then spinned up higher in the water, as the trident started glowing. She started getting huge! Enormous even! Like King Kong and Godzilla on steroids.

“The sea and all its spoils bow to my power!” She yelled and laughed manically. I don’t know if it was just the little thought in the back of my head, but I believed I was going to get squished.

“How the heck!?” I gasped loudly. “It’s the triton! It’s giving her power, we have to beat her!” Ariel insisted. “Do we even have a plan to beat her!?” Sora nodded causing me to raise a brow. He actually thought up a plan before we even got here?

Wow, that’s a first. “Though she got a lot bigger than us, she can’t move as easily meaning we’ll have more time to attack her” Sora explained. My eyes widen. He really DID think of a plan! Oh boy! “So we’ll attack her every chance we get basically” Donald summed up and Sora nodded.

“Works for me!” I said quickly and took out my Lunar Breaker keyblade out.

She started blowing huge bubbles that came at us fast. We swam out the way as Ariel, Donald, and Goofy went towards her head. She then started breathing in, sucking all the water towards her.

“Fira!” I yell. Nothing came. I glared at my keyblade and slapped my head. “Damn it! You worked before! Don’t fizz on me now!”

I moved around and went to where Ariel, Goofy, and Donald were. “Blizzara!” I yelled shooting at her. She then started to move, moving her head with it. I looked to her direction to see Sora; he was trying to distract her.

“Damn it! Sora you’re going to get killed doing that!” I yelled. He looked over but quickly moved out the way when she tried swatting him away. “Fira!” I shouted and the flame hit her hand and she yelled in pain.

She glared at everyone and she raised the triton. The triton began to glow and suddenly lightning struck everywhere.

“Whoa!” I yelled barely missing one. I moved around, dodging all the attacks but ended up farther away from Ursula. “What now?!” I asked Sora who swam over to me.

“We got to try to distract her so she doesn’t hurt the others” He answered causing me to smack my head and sigh. “Oh yeah! She’s not going to hurt them! But the lightning will!” I yelled pointing at the lightning. “Damn, she really needs to shut her mouth” I muttered.

Sora eyes widen and he looked at me in shock. “That’s it!” “What?” I asked but before he could answer, lightning struck near us and we had to separate.

“Guys swim away!” I yelled when I saw Ursula was going to use her horrible little lightning trick on us again. They heard and started moving. When the lighting hit, only Donald and Goofy were hit. “Cure!” Sora and I yelled. Donald and Goofy shook around and swam to us. “What now?!” Donald yelled.

“Donald, Goofy! Think you can distract her while me, Michelle, and Ariel take care of her” Sora asked. They nodded. “Alright let’s go” I said. Donald and Goofy started swimming around her face throwing spells, and Goofy’s shield at her.

“So what’s your new plan?” I asked curiously. “Stop her sucking everything! I think that’ll work!” Sora insisted and Ariel looked over at Ursula who was shooting bubbles at Donald and Goofy who kept making fun of her. She waved her triton again and my eyes widen.

“Aero!” I yelled giving shields to Sora and Ariel who began to move to attack Ursula. The lightning hit me directly from my back it felt hot metal went through my spine! “Damn!” I thought as a huge surge of pain went to me. I barely could see anything, am I dying?

“Cura!” I heard Ariel yell. The electrocuting pain soon came to a stop and my eyes snapped open. Ariel came over to my side and I heavily sighed in relief. I thanked her and we both looked back seeing Sora, Donald, and Goofy dodging the multiple lightning attacks she was throwing at them.

I shook myself seeing if I could move everything. “I’m still okay!” I thought. “OH YEAH! DIRECT LIGHTNING ATTACKS CAN BE SURVIVABLY! BEAT THAT MRS. LOMBARDI!” I thought smiling in victory.

I turned my head and glared at Ursula who was trying to attack everyone with her bubbles. “EAT THIS!!” I yelled. I tossed my keyblade which smacked against her mouth, stopping her from attacking. She glared at me but I stuck my tongue out.

“WHY YOU!” She began sucking the water again and I grinned. I was able to swim out the way but Sora, Donald, Ariel and I was ready for a good magic attack. “Thundara!” “Fira!” “Blizzara!” the three spells mixed into Ursula’s vortex and she swallowed them up.

She grabbed her throat as she seemed like she couldn’t breathe. We swam off to a save distance as we watched everything happen. She looked like she was choking when we beat her, like she couldn’t breathe. She went down the smoky, inky, electric area. She yelled in agony as she went down. Then a golden light shone from the darkness and the trident came.

Ariel grabbed it and looked at each one of us and began to smile. “Phew” I said wiping my head. What a relief! I SURIVIVED A LIGHTNING ATTACK! That’s just saying how incredibly lucky i am that I got stuck in a game where the logic of the real world doesn’t come into effect here.

“Let’s get back to the palace and return the triton” Sora said and everyone nodded in agreement.

We’re aliiiiiiiiveeeeeee!!! I can’t believe it! Fighting Ursula was really hard, probably the hardest boss that we fought so far unless you count Cerberus as a REAL boss since Hercules wore him down -.-*

We had returned to the Throne Room and Ariel had returned the triton to her father. “Daddy I’m so sorry” Ariel began, looking down. “Please don’t be angry with her.” I added gently with Sora, Donald and Goofy nodding in agreement. King Triton looked at all of us before sighing.

“It’s my fault as well” Triton admitted causing Ariel to look up in shock at her father. “You followed Ursula because….I wouldn’t let you follow your heart” Aww, he sounds like such a good dad, but he needs to learn to control his temper issue.

“And when you found that crystal, I lost my temper and destroyed it without telling you a good reason why” He finished and looked at his daughter with sincerity. “I’m sorry Ariel” Ariel smiled brightly and tackled her father in a hug causing him to smile.

“Oh, yeah, the crystal! Why did you destroy it?” Goofy asked. Triton turned his attention away from his daughter then to the three of us. “That crystal held the power to reveal the keyhole” He exclaimed and the four of us looked at each other. “It did!?” Triton simply nodded in response. So it DID have the power to open it. Wow, Ariel has good instincts.

“The Keyhole is dangerous. I had to keep you away from it at any cost” Triton explained, now looking at his daughter who looked at him again in shock. “Daddy” Ariel said softly. Triton turned his attention to us once more and looked directly at Sora and I.

“Keybearers, I have one more request: Seal the keyhole” Trident said. I turned my head to King Triton with a questionable look. “But sir, how will Sora be able to do it if the crystal was destroyed?” I asked curiously.

“My trident holds the power to reveal the Keyhole.” He answered. “Will you do it?”

“Of course he will” Donald and I said automatically. Sora smiled and nodded in response. “Of course. That’s what we had in mind from the start” He said.

Ariel blinked a few times before staring at her father with a questionable look. “Where is the Keyhole, Daddy?” Ariel asked. Her father smiled and said “You should know better than anyone. It’s in your grotto.” Ariel gasped a little but then thought and smiled. “Really….let’s go” Goofy said.

Ariel grabbed the trident from her father, before giving him a hug. We then swam out the palace and to Ariel’s grotto. We entered and went to where the trident like mark was. The trident started glowing and it lifted up from Ariel’s hands. It then reflected to the mark and the mark showed the keyhole. Sora pointed his keyblade at it as it appeared. A bright light shot out of it and hit the keyhole. It then made the lock noise and disappeared in a burst of bubbles.

Ariel stared in awe at where the keyhole once was and then turned to Sora and me.

“Tell me you guys, your worlds, what’s it all like?” She asked. Sora eyes widen slightly then turned to regret. “Oh, about that…Sorry for lying to you.” Sora said. She giggled.

“It’s okay. Besides, if you can travel to other worlds, maybe I can too.” Ariel retorted gleefully. She swam higher in her grotto, looking out the hole that led somewhere. “So many places I want to see. I know I’ll get there someday.”

“I’ll find a way somehow. I’m sure of it” I smiled brightly and nodded. “I bet you will Ariel, you just gotta believe” I told her and she smiled.

“Well,” Everyone looked down seeing Sebastian on the rock with a claw on his head. “if you find it, do me a favor and leave me out of it” Everyone laughed and I then looked to Ariel.

“Well this is goodbye I guess” I started and Ariel smiled. “You’re always welcomed back to Atlantica, take care”

[Gummi Ship]

“OWW!” My legs fell asleep, ow! The pain of trying to walk again after being so use to having a tail!!! Especially with everyone being soaked, that didn’t help with trying to get use to walking again. Donald ended up having to crawl to the driver’s seat.

“Couldn’t have water proofed us?” Sora asked squeezing his shirt a bit getting rid of some water. Donald glared at him and shook his feathers, getting him all feathered up. “Shut up! At least we didn’t drown” He said rubbing his feathers down.

“Yeah. That would have been bad” I admitted as I began pulling my hair so the water could get out. Goofy took off his hat and squeezed it getting rid of a lot of water. I sat down beside Sora and put my hair in a ponytail. We don’t want to see what THIS hair looks like once it gets dried.

“I can barely feel my legs” Sora muttered and began rubbing them.

“It’ll take some time, we have to get use to walking again” I said and crossed my arms across my chest. Oh how it feels nice to have clothes on again though! I laid back against my chair and watched as the stars passed the window. I was beginning to feel tired, sore all over and yet excited.

I knew we were heading to Traverse Town, Goofy showed Donald and Sora the navi gummi we managed to find in Atlantica and Donald put the ship in course to Traverse Town. We COULD’VE went warp drive but I don’t think anyone at the moment is in the mood for it. Especially with the fact that I don’t think we even USED the warp drive. I gulped thinking about using it eventually. Shuddering the thought out of my head, I just continued to stare out the window.

Donald said everyone could go to sleep but I decided to stay up and drive the ship while the others got there sleep. I sighed boredly, both hands on the wheel lazily. I know, I know. If it were you, you’d probably would be freaked and happy to drive the gummi ship. But I was tired, I really didn’t care.

I would slap myself right now if I had any sense left in me at the moment. I leaned back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling. What was wrong with me? It feels like all of my emotions were gone, leaving me as a hollow body…basically a nobody. XDD I could only guess how they ‘feel’

But at the same time, I felt like something was draining me, something tugging my arm till it was basically off. I sighed in aggravation and sat up.

“Hoshi!” I whispered firmly. She said before I go to Hollow Bastion she was going to tell me, but right now, this seemed like the perfect moment since no one was awake.

_You rang?_

I breathed out my nose loudly and stood up before turning to see the ebony teen standing behind the chair causing me to take a startled step back.

_I almost regret giving you permission to call me whatever you please_

Her eyes gazed at me with the most boring expression I’ve seen in a while. Her hands were crossed lazily over her chest and her fingers were tapping against her wrist. I pushed my hair out of my face and let a strand stay behind my ear. “I need to ask you something” I told her.

She rolled her eyes and motioned her hand for me to continue. “About what is going on with me?”

That’s when her expression changed. She paused, her eyes widen for the slightest second before they turned blank and I was unable to imagine what she was thinking or feeling at the moment. It was silent between the two of us and I was feeling anxious. I wanted to know, was there something wrong with me? Did I get sick and the sickness got worse here!?

_I suppose—_

I looked at her as she slowly set herself to sit on the second seat, facing all the controls of the gummi ship before focusing her attention at me once again.

_You should hear this now then later. You’ll be more prepared now at least._

I gulped and wondered if I should sit and listen or run the hell away. But then again, where could I run on this tiny ship? I sat down, propping my feet onto the seat and sat crossed legged. I turned the seat to face Hoshi who stared at me like I was nuts to sit like this on a chair like this. And yes, I find this position very comfortable for some odd reason.

“Okay, shot” I said and stared at her.

Her green eyes blinked once and then she turned to face outside.

_Remember I told you about how you aren’t supposed to be here? Correct?_

“Yes, we’ve gone through the whole speech before” I replied with slight annoyance. Why does she love bringing this up? This is getting as old as Marluxia saying ‘To forget is to remember. To lose is to find’ or something like that.

_There is a reason you are not supposed to be here. One, when Earth was consumed by darkness, it was by a fatal mistake that we beings could not have stopped._

“Beings? What…” I curled my lips into a frown and crossed my arms. She stared at me in wonder as I started at her accusingly. “Are you an alien?” I asked bluntly. She stared at me in pure horror and shook her head.

_I am NOT an alien! Your race has filled their heads with delusional ideas when someone is being ominous._

Well she did mentioned humans as a race and she seems to think she’s more superior then me right now. Hmm. She calmed herself down before staring at me stonily. “What are you then?” I decided to ask.

_I am nothing. Now, anymore idiotic questions before I continue?_

‘Can you be any harsher or sarcastic?’ I thought in annoyance. She’s really not the patient type I thought she was at first. She looked at me suspiciously before looking out the window.

_As I was saying. Your world got consumed by mistake. Now how you survived is a mystery to everyone, other straggles including your friends are an even bigger mystery. I was tasked to return all those who were misplaced, returning their counterpart and making this seem like one old big nightmare once the worlds are returned to order._

I nodded slowly, trying to see if this made sense. She’s saying that I’m not supposed to be here and was going to bring me and my friends back. “So if you’re apparently so great, why didn’t you just stop everyone before this all turned into a shit show?” I vulgarly asked.

_You gained the keyblade. That’s what stopped us._

My eyes widen and I blinked a few times. I turned and extended my arm out. My lunar breaker appeared in my hand and I examined it. “How could this stop you?”

_That’s where it gets complicated. To make it simpler, this universe you’re in is colliding with the one of your world. They aren’t supposed to co-exist with each other, let alone try to merge together._

My eyes widen and I turned to her. “Are you saying that everyone’s going to die because some universal thing is going to explode and a black hole is going to open up and and and—”

She stared at me as I began to hyperventilate from the horrible thought. OOOOH! I DON’T WANT TO DIIIEEE LIKE THAT!!!! DX That’s when I felt a quick pinch on my arm and I looked up at her seeing she was looking at me with a deadpan expression. I stared at her and laughed nervously. “I went a little overboard didn’t I?” I questioned, scratching the back of my head nervously.

_A little I suppose. But you weren’t far off about the universe thing—_

“SO EVERYONE IS GOING TO DIE!?!?!?”

_No!_

She slapped her head in frustration, dragging her hand across her face before looking at me with a serious expression. She breathed in and out before placing her hands on her hips.

_There is one person in every universe, having somewhat of a twin in the other. With these two universes slowly coming apart, we didn’t have to worry about it until YOU came into the picture._

I blinked several times. “Wh-What?”

_I’m sorry to be blunt but it’s the truth. You’re the only reason why these two universes are still connected. The burden and all the pressure is what you feel when you get those little seizures. If you do not choice to return to the universe you come from—_

Her eyes harden and her hand turned into a fist. My eyes widen and I could begin to feel my body shake. Why was I so scared, what was the worst thing she could tell me?

_You will die._

I just had to ask myself didn’t I?

I stopped breathing, my lungs constricting and my heart beating faster than I could imagine. I could see my hands were shaking and my keyblade disappeared from my hand. My eyes were wide open and alert.

“Wh-What?” I asked, my voice sounding very hoarse.

_The two universe can’t continue to remain connected like this Michelle, whatever your connection here cannot be real! If you don’t deal with this now, you will have to die unless by a god standing miracle something may happen. But that’s a rare chance so don’t bet on it._

I put a hand to my chest, feeling my chest rise rapidly up and down. My other hand flew to my forehead, creating a shadow over my eyes. I knew I was about to cry but I resisted the urge to. I breathed in and out heavily before looking at Hoshi. The tears began to weld and I knew I couldn’t them back for long, I knew I had to try and strain a conversation out.

“So, the only option you’re giving me is that once it seems clear that Sora, Donald, and Goofy beat the darkness, then you’re going to force hundreds of us to go back?”

_Correct._

I gulped nervously before looking at Hoshi. My thoughts were already boggled by all the information she had dropped on me. I was terrified at her, I was terrified of what she was and

“Why? Why did you have to be the one to come to me?” I demanded quietly, my voice quivering slightly.

Her eyes lowered lightly and she mouthed her answer. My eyes widen and she disappeared in an instant. I heard a yawn but didn’t bother looking at who it was. My eyes were still focused on where she once was.

“Hey Michelle, are you okay?” It was Sora; he was shaking my shoulder I think for a few minutes. I snapped out of that trance and then looked shakily at Sora. He was looking at me with concern.

“Are you okay?” He asked again, sitting in the seat Hoshi once sat in. I nodded, still feeling, even hearing my heart beating hard against my chest.

“Yeah, everything’s alright, just got spooked that’s all” I admitted sheepishly. Sora raised a brow; it looked like he didn’t trust me.

“Well I’m taking shift now, is that all right with you?” He asked me.

I immediately nodded, standing up and hurrying over into my room. I closed the door quietly and then fell onto my bed. I hugged my knees to my chest and placed my head down. What am I going to do? Why did this all happened to me? I know, I’m being hypocritical saying that I wanted an adventure of a lifetime once before, but it changed when it meant something so much bigger than me.

I was still thinking about Hoshi, the last words she said before she had left.

_Because I am apart of you._


	18. The Wonderful Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *coughs*.......*SQUEALS* ......I really like Winnie the Pooh growing up as a kid. This was something I couldn't afford to skip. And thank you for all the patience's. I had a lovely time with my girlfriend and I hope to see her again soon. In the meantime, I am trying to make a few goals and one of them is to try and finish this story by August. So you may see updates not once, twice a week from now on. I hope I can stick with this goal as long as work doesn't get in the way. Which shouldn't be a problem. Regardless. I hope everyone has a lovely day! Thank you for reading and supporting! Enjoy!

[Gummi Ship: Sora’s POV]

“Hey, is it just me or has Michelle been in her room for a while?” Donald gazed pointingly at Sora, half-expecting the boy to have an answer. He had only been driving for an hour, taking over for Sora who glanced occasionally into the hall. Goofy’s snoring echoed through the halls causing Donald to retort to have ear-muffs on for the duration of driving.

Though his attention had turned back to Sora, noticing his not-so cheery persona. He flung off the muffs, hoping Goofy’s snoring would quiet for a bit.

“Did something happen? You and Michelle weren’t supposed to switch till another hour.” Donald asked.

Sora eyes narrowed, shrugging lightly causing Donald to frown at the response. Sora’s mind however, was becoming rather preoccupied with what had happened earlier.

[Flashback]

Sora was simply lying in bed, waking up once in a while as his dreams often led him to think about Riku and Kairi again. He sighed, tossing the pillow over his head and shut his eyes, hoping he could drift off to sleep again.

That’s when he heard Michelle talking. Wait, was she talking to herself again?

Sora noticed she does that sometimes, especially when she begins to ramble about what they should be looking for in worlds like treasure. The best moments come when she gets annoyed at both Donald and himself when they argue. It hasn’t happened in a while since both have reconciled, though he knows Michelle will never let go what happened in Tarzan’s World.

Sora sat up and ruffled his hair, noticing that it seemed like Michelle was actually talking to someone. Thinking that Donald or Goofy was awake, he decided to get up. He didn’t feel like he was going to get a good night’s sleep anyway. As he went forward and into the hall, he started noticing there was a bit of a….distortion. It sounded warped almost, sounding like the mysterious voice that had appeared in his dreams.

Sora slowly made his way further down the hall, finally getting a better look at where the conversation was being held.

The conversation was unclear but he could hear Michelle sound nervous. Sora peered outside the hall to see Michelle gasp, sitting in her seat, facing another seat. Sora raised a brow and looked at Michelle. Her eyes were wide and her body was shaking lightly, her hand gripping the seat tightly.

She seemed afraid, yet there was nothing in the cockpit. What was going on—

“Why? Why did they send you?” She asked, her voice echoing in the quiet room. Sora squinted, trying to debate if she has gone officially nuts or he was having a dream. Both could’ve been correct at this point.

_“I am apart of you,”_ Was the reply, then for a moment; Sora thought he did see someone.

Sora’s eyes widen and his jaw opened slightly. A person distorted into reality for a moment and someone was sitting beside Michelle. Her arms rested lazily on her knees, her legs swinging gently in the seat. It was just like how he saw her in Merlin’s, how she turned to him and gave him that sweet smile.

“Kairi?” Sora gasped. It seemed she had heard him, averting her attention from Michelle to meet his gaze, yet, when he met her gaze it didn’t feel like Kairi. She smiled sweetly before disappearing before his eyes.

“HUH!?” Sora shook his head furiously before looking back seeing Michelle shaking horribly and Kairi was gone. Sora walked over to her, his eyes wandering between her and the chair where he had saw Kairi. Now his attention was directed to Michelle, seeing how had moved back to the steering wheel, gripping it tightly.

“Michelle, are you okay?” Sora asked carefully.

Michelle didn’t respond, causing Sora to become a bit worried. What happened between these two, he could only wonder. He put a hand on lightly on her shoulder, shaking her.

The dazed look suddenly broke, her eyes widening in sudden realization and she turned entirely to face Sora. For the first time since he met her, Sora actually saw her look deathly afraid. Even though he has had plenty of moments to see her scream her head off fighting every boss they have ever fault. Those was nothing compared to how she looked right now.

“Are you okay?” Sora repeated. Michelle nodded, glancing away from Sora’s eyes then to the chair. “Yeah, just got spooked that’s all”

“Michelle—?”

“Sorry, um, do you mind if you can take over…?” Michelle gestured towards the steering wheel, her hand shaking. They weren’t even supposed to switch until another hour—but he knew she was uncomfortable.

“Yeah, I can do that,” Sora agreed, offering a small smile. Michelle weakly smiled, nodding before getting up and quickly darting into the hall. Sora held a hand up to try and ask again but he simply dropped it, sighing softly.

Something weird was going on.

[Present]

Sora crossed his arms, looking over to the seat across from him. ‘Was Michelle talking to Kairi?’ Sora wondered. Curiosity was going to get him sooner or later. He was going to find out at some point. Yet he frowned gently, rubbing the back of his neck.

‘What were they talking about that made Michelle so scared?’

[Original POV]

My eyes flickered open, sleep having gone way too quickly from my grasp. Ugh, I feel like my sleep schedule is thrown way off. I yawned, grimacing when I had. I need food, I feel sick to my stomach. I glanced towards my phone and looked at the time. It was around 2 in the afternoon, no wonder I feel hunger pains. I’ve been up all night.

_I am apart of you_

I stiffened, those words kept ringing in my head over and over again. Whenever I tried shutting out her voice, it would keep coming back as my own. My own mind was betraying me.

My hands balled up, my arms balancing on my knees as I rocked gently back and forth on the edge on my bed. Was I this pathetic? To really be worrying about the nonsense riddles she kept spitting out at me?

‘I need to move,’ It sounded almost like a weak suggestion. I realized that’s what I had to do in the end. I grimaced.

“I need to move now,” I said loudly. Taking a stand, I almost had regretted that decision.

My legs fell asleep, moving them was a pain especially when you’re trying to walk to get that numbness out, it feels like needles are poking at your skin. I bared the pain, cursing silently and opened my door.

I walked into the gummi hanger seeing Sora and Donald co-piloting. Hey, maybe they won’t notice me taking a snack and running the hell back to my room. I could talk to them later about yesterday if Sora hadn’t already mentioned it to Donald. I licked my lips, walking on the front of my feet to maneuver myself as quietly to the fridge. I wanted the left over food we had. I was almost there—

“Good mornin’ fellas!” I turned around seeing Goofy, his eyes half closed but he was obviously aware I was here. That made Sora and Donald turn, looking to Goofy then to me. Sora eyes narrowed to me and I gulped. I laughed nervously, grabbing the door of the fridge, opening it to grab some water. “Morning Goofy” I greeted, smiling warmly though in reality it was the afternoon. Oh I’m in trouble now.

Goofy smacked his lips, coming over to also grab some water for himself while I nervously twiddled with mine, noticing Donald and Sora were looking at me. Come on, I need a convenient escape right now. Please, another world, show up!  

I walked back into my room, already having a good feeling that Goofy was now going to take over for Sora. Then that meant Sora was going to end up talking to me. Ugggghhh. I had shut my door to my room, slumping onto the bed with the water I grabbed oooh so casually. This wasn’t even what I wanted.

I traced along the water bottle, debating if I should even want some when a knock emitted from the door. Speak of the freaking Sora. I knew he was going to end up coming in.

I sighed softly, rolling my head back.

“Come in…” The door creaked open and closed, Sora eventually jumping on the other side of my bed. I nearly bolted up, not expecting him to have actually jumped on my bed.

“What happened last night Michelle, you were pretty shaken up.” He asked concerningly.

Jump to the point huh? Heh.

II shook my head, smiling softly. “Nothing, it doesn’t really matter anymore in fact,” I lied. Oh it did matter. Apparently it was the matter of EVERYTHING! Sora looked at me suspiciously and I silently gulped. Why was he staring at me?

“Oh come on Michelle, are you really going to lie to me? Me??” Sora pointed at his face, pouting ever so slightly and my lips twitched. I felt like at this point in the adventure, he was beginning to catch on when I would lie. But to know that whenever he began pouting, that I normally would comply. I HAD TO MAKE THAT POUT STOP. I COULDN’T HANDLE IT.

I grimaced, taking a notice his pout increased. “SORA! STOP!” I groaned, burying my head into my pillow. “It’s harder to explain than you think!”

“Huh…but Michelle…you know we’re here to help,” Sora said softly. “We’re friends, no matter what happens”

I paused from squeezing the non-existent life out of the pillow. Taking a moment to look at Sora, he was smiling that goofy grin of his. I flushed slightly, rubbing my neck in embarrassment. Maybe….maybe I’ll tell him—

“HEY! There’s Traverse Town!” Donald interrupted before Sora could say anything else. We both looked out the window to see the familiar world. I smiled brightly, bolting up from the bed and took off into the hallway.

“Come on! Let’s go!”

[Traverse Town]

The First District was quiet, something that was a good sign to the four.

“Hey! Hey!” I raised a brow, looking around. “Hey, didn’t that voice sound familiar?” Sora questioned. Donald nodded along with Goofy and Jiminy jumped to Sora’s shoulder.

“Hey guys!” We all looked towards the Accessory Shop to see…Pinocchio?

“Pinocchio!?” We gasped but Jiminy seemed thrilled.

“Pinocchio!” The little wooden boy ran down the stairs, almost tripping but gleefully ran up to us. Jiminy jumped down from Sora’s shoulder, rushing forward as Pinocchio came about two feet away from us. “Pinocchio! You’re okay!” Jiminy said.

“Of course I’m okay Jiminy! Father said we would, didn’t he!” Pinocchio responded happily.

I smiled, looking at Pinocchio and Jiminy. Well this is a good thing. At least we now know Pinocchio and Geppetto got out safe and are here.

“Come on! I bet father would be happy to see you all,” Pinocchio led us to a small house where it used to be a former dead-end.

Entering inside, first I saw Geppetto, humming thoughtfully at a diagram. Next to him was none other than Cid. The gears and clacks of wood and metal spun around in this little workshop that Geppetto was most likely the proud owner of now.

“Hey Father! It’s Sora and the others!” Pinocchio announced, gaining the attention of the two men.

“Well, Hello everyone! I’m so relieved to see you all safe,” Geppetto said turning around. Cid looked at us for a minute, waving nonchalantly to us. I merely waved back while the others seemed more engulfed at the workshop.

“How did you get here?” Sora asked curiously.

“A man named Leon helped us. He even got us this house to live in. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay his kindness.” Geppetto said. I looked over to the others who seemed a little curious. Leon is nice but sometimes…well, we know how he is. Hehe, looks like he’s probably nicer than he lets on to believe.

“So did you find that other gummi piece?” Cid asked, finally finishing something on the sketch. Goofy pulled it out and handed it over to Cid. Cid looked over, almost not expecting for the piece of Gummi to be in his hand.

“All right then, I’ll get this installed right now.” He told us then turned to Geppetto. “You got some nice blueprint design, only had to change some minor details. That ship can probably fly in a week if I get to work on it,” Cid exclaimed. Geppetto smiled at that and Cid left the house.

“So you design blueprints for Gummi ships now?” I asked Geppetto. He nodded, smiling brightly.

“Yes, if you’d like, I could design something you could use in the future!”

“That would be great Geppetto! I bet it would be the best!” We had all began talking to different people. Sora and Geppetto were now talking about a new ship (Sora seemed like he really wanted the name the ship Highwind or something weird like Lindblum. I suggested we should have the Strahl!)

Goofy and Donald were talking with Pinocchio and Jiminy. Jiminy was mainly asking if Pinocchio has been a good boy and hasn’t been lying since he left. Pinocchio seemed like he was telling the truth, I guess he learned his lesson since what had happened in Monstro. O.o I would be surprised if he didn’t.

I was checking out all the blueprints Geppetto had made. They were incredible, he sure was an artist. I think he and Cid could have a good partnership. Oh yeah, speaking of Cid.

“Say, shouldn’t we check on everyone else?” I asked. Donald and Goofy nodded but Sora was still off in his dream world about the gummi ship.

“Pinocchio, be on your best behavior while I’m gone okay?” Jiminy said to Pinocchio. He nodded in understandment and smiled.

“Be careful you four and good luck!” Geppetto said to us as we left.

We managed to find Cid working on the gummi ship but then he kicks us out saying he still hasn’t finished installing it yet. [Also it’s mainly because Goofy accidently hit a wrench which broke the window that Cid now has to fix.]

We waited for what felt like an hour, lying down on the steps, looking at the stars, glittering in the sky. They looked so beautiful right now; it’s weird to think that each star is a different world. I wonder what they are like, are there any that is like Traverse Town or Earth…?

It’s funny; they kind of remind me of millions of little lanterns, lighting our dark nights with mystery and awe. Hmm, I wonder what that sounds a little familiar.

“Hey Sora” It was Donald question that snapped me out of my little spacing out moment. I looked over at Sora seeing him staring depressingly down at his feet.

“Just remember what Donald said to ya: no frowning, no sad faces” Goofy said to him. Sora was depressingly looking down at his feet, getting everyone’s attention. I lifted my head a bit and looked to the three that were behind me.

“How can you be so cheerful? There’s still no sign of your king. Or even what happened to Michelle’s world or her friends. Aren’t you worried?” Sora asked.

Donald, Goofy, and I exchanged glances before looking at Sora. How can I answer that? I’m not too sure about myself right now either.

“Aw, phooey.” Donald murmured and crossed his arms. Goofy smiled brightly and slugged an arm around Donald.

“The king told us to go out and find the key bearer, and we found you guys,” Goofy began.

“As long as we stick together it’ll all work out okay!” Just stick together huh.

I glanced back towards the sky, feeling slightly bad. I grew attached to these guys, it’ll break my heart to leave these guys. But…I care about my friends too, I don’t want them to suffer for my wants. I sighed angrily before looking back at trio.

“But what happens if there’s a time when we won’t be all together??” I demanded. The duo turned to my direction and I huffed, my face heating up. I sighed softly, turning forward, brushing my knees.

“What happens….even though we stick together, something happens that we end up getting separated…for good?”

Silence lingered in the air and I hugged my arms gently, wondering if it was such a bad idea to make an outburst like that. “Well that’s okay too!” Goofy acknowledged. Sora and I both shared a glance, looking to the wise Goof.

“Ya, just gotta believe in yourself. Believe that, even if we get separated, well, I’ll know we’ll still be connected!” Goofy said. He sure was optimistic.

“Just believe.” Sora repeated and looked up towards the sky.

I wonder what he’s thinking about…I looked at my hands unsurely then back to Sora. He’s the reason I’m here, the reason why I probably wield the keyblade. Just because of that game. Just because of this one boy. I narrowed my eyes to the ground.

“I hope everyone’s okay,” I said quietly. I wasn’t just thinking of my friends at this point. I was thinking about Kairi, the King, pretty much the people that everyone cared about. That caught Donald and Goofy’s attention somehow.

“Oh don’t worry. You friends and family are going to be okay,” Donald said. I looked back up to them, raising a brow and frowning softly. “But how do you know?” I asked.

“Like we told Sora, you just have to believe” Donald said. Believe. That one word seems to be very popular in this game. You know, it was good to believe. Believing caused me to fly into Neverland, I believe I was able to fight some foes that I never imagined in my life I could take on. And I believed I could do something better with my life.

I paused.

That’s why…I wanted to do something different, I wanted to help out instead of sitting at home and going to school day after day. I believed that maybe I was meant to do something different to help something out great. And I am. My lip began to curl into a small smile as I looked up to the sky. The stars in the sky still glittered, not one showing any signs of disappearing any more causing me to smile brighter.

I’ll believe from now. I believe I’ll keep fighting till the end no matter what; I’ll help Sora because I consider him a best friend along with Donald and Goofy. I believe I can save my friends and get them back home. I believe I will make it out of this!

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan” I muttered, smirking to myself now.

“Hey kid” I looked up seeing Cid looking down at me, nibbling on his toothpick of his.

“It’s best not to just sit there.” He said smartly and I jumped to a stand. Sora snapped out of staring at the sky when Donald shook his shoulder.

“So did you do it Cid?” Sora asked. Cid narrowed his eyes and nodded.

“Yeah I installed that navigation gummi. But ya know? That next place you’re heading to is crawling with Heartless.” Cid exclaimed cautiously.

“Leon said that maybe you should stay here for the night before you head off to that place, ya know, for supplies and what not” I raised a brow. Leon is starting to sound a lot nicer every minute. Sora looked at Donald and Goofy then at me before looking at Cid.

“I guess we can, hey maybe we can train with Merlin in the mean time!” Donald said cheerfully. It’s been a while since we last visited Merlin and I guess it would be pretty good to learn to master cure.

“And we should give Leon and the others the reports we found,” Donald insisted and Sora nodded in agreement. I smiled, actually a little happy we agreed to stay in Traverse Town a little longer. I wasn’t ready to get crowded in a ship again for god knows how many days.

I ran back to the ship to grab all the papers, Ansem’s reports and the torn pages.

“One, two, three” I counted the papers quickly, heading back to reach the others. I think we had them all. I blinked a few times, stopping at the realization. We had all of the missing torn pages. I suddenly began grinning, spinning around.

“YES!!!! WE CAN SEE WINNIE THE POOH!!!” I cheered brightly. Oh this was a child dream come true. YES! Returning back to the trio, we first decided to head over to Merlin’s.

“Merlin! “ Donald charged into the room as we walked closer to the house. But there was a small ‘boom’ noise and smoke came from one window. The owl that was in its little house peered out and blinked a few times.

“That spoony old bard, he’s always tinkering around with things.” The owl huffed annoyingly, kicking out some old hay and going back to sleep.

I stopped underneath the bird house, a little taken aback that an hour had just managed to talk. Though I should be used to that by now, it was surprising that he said a ‘spoony bard’. What the heck is a spoony bard!? Entering Merlin’s place, we could see Donald and Merlin completely covered in black.

“What happened?” I decided to ask as Merlin wiped his face with a towel.

“I suppose this is what happens when I try to make potions once and a while” Merlin laughed for a second then noticed us. “Oh why hello lads and lady. I suppose you’re here to train?”

“Yup!”

“Err…” I drawled causing Merlin to focus his attention on me. I grinned brightly, pulling out the torn pages. “More specifically we really wanted to return these to you!” I handled them to Merlin. He took them carefully and adjusted his glasses. He smiled widely at and looked to us.

“My word! You managed to find all the torn pages!” Merlin exclaimed. He snapped his finger and the book appeared on the table it was on when we last saw it. “I suppose I could fix this now, but it may require a little more hands on efforts to return the pages within the book,” Merlin suggested causing Sora to raise a brow.

We looked at the book with interest (Though Goofy was trying to help Donald get rid of the blackness off his feathers)

“I wonder what he meant by hands on,” I murmured. Sora shrugged as he grabbed the book and took the lock off the book. “We might as well take a look at it, we haven’t gotten a chance to look at it since we first brought the book to Merlin,”

I carefully stitched together the pages into the book, noticing how they didn’t magically wind back together. I suppose Merlin had to do that part. Just when I put the last one in, a light began to glow on each page causing me to take a step back. Or maybe not, or maybe I had to wait till the end. Oh shiba!

“What the—” Suddenly the book lit up and I covered my eyes. Too bright, too bright! And that’s when I heard this weird sense of falling. I opened my eyes once I felt my feet land on something and my eyes bugged out.

Why was I suddenly in a forest?

Where….who…what!?

I spun around in a complete circle; my eyes wide open in complete confusion. How did I end up in a forest!? I WAS LOOKING AT A BOOK! I stopped looking around and took in a deep breath. “HEYYY!!!” I shouted loudly.

How the heck did I end up here!? I looked up seeing the bright light of the sun causing me to squint. I looked down the forest and decide to follow it. “Sora, Donald, Goofy?” I said loudly. Were they here too? I ended up in a wide open meadow causing me to stop.

It was so nice

“Whoa, it’s beautiful” My eyes scanned the area before I stopped on something. A little yellow bear was sitting on a log, tapping his head as he stared at the ground thoughtfully.

“Michelle!” I felt a hand on my shoulder and I instantly jumped. I whirled around to see Sora. SORA! THANK GOD!

“Sora! What just happened!?” I asked quickly. The brunette shrugged and put a hand to his chin. “All we did was open the book and then a bright light then…we’re here” He summed up and I nodded. Wait, bright light comes from book, we end up here and now I see a yellow bear? Wait does that mean?

“Sora do you think...we’re in the book?” Sora looked at me with an extremely surprised look.

“The book?” Sora repeated and I nodded. Sora looked around while I looked at the little bear still on the log. Sora noticed and also looked. “Looks like something’s wrong” Sora muttered. He walked past me and towards the little bear. o3o Winnie the Pooh!!!

“Hi there. What’s wrong?” Sora asked the little bear.

“Nothing. Just thinking” Pooh responded, his paw tapping on his head lightly and staring at the ground. “Oh”

“I was thinking of how to say goodbye to Pooh” Pooh added causing Sora to raise a brow.

“Pooh?” Sora repeated and Winnie the Pooh looked at him. “Yes?” I rolled my eyes and walked over to Sora. “I think that’s his name Sora” I whispered and Sora looked at me then to Pooh. “Wait a second. You’re Pooh?” Sora asked as he took a seat next to him.

“Yes. I’m Winnie the Pooh. Pooh for short. Who are you two?” He asked. He’s so polite it’s cute. I want to hug him. Must resist though. “Well I’m Sora and this is my friend Michelle” Sora introduced and I waved. Pooh smiled. GAH! HE’S TOO CUTE!

“Oh hello Sora, Michelle. Have you come to say goodbye to Pooh too?” He asked. Sora blinked a few times then shook his head.

“Well, no. Why would we do that. We’ve only just met” Sora said. Pooh looked down at his feet, a sad expression coming to his face.

“Because everyone’s gone away” Pooh answered. I frowned softly and sat beside Sora. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, we all lived here in the Hundred Acre Wood. And we’d take walks together, or play Pooh sticks…And every day, I’d eat some honey. Just one small smackeral would taste very good right now. But now everyone’s gone. All my friends and my favorite honey tree. Everyone must’ve gone away while I was napping, I think….” Pooh explained. My eyes widen and I looked at Sora.

“Is this because of all the torn pages?” I whispered. Sora shrugged.

“So, who knows? Maybe I shall end up going somewhere as well. But I wonder, how do I say goodbye to myself? Think, think, think….” Pooh thought for a couple more seconds before standing up on the ground.

“Oh my tummy is getting rather rumbly.” He stood up, waving and turned to the path, following it carefully. “Goodbye Sora and Michelle” He waved again and continued off on his way. I tilted my head.

“Say good bye to himself?” I repeated and looked at Sora. “That’s…not usual…”

“Yeah. Come on let’s follow him” Sora insisted and I nodded.


	19. Hundred Arce Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter folks! I hope you all enjoy the story so far and know the next chapter shouldn’t be too far away now either! Thanks for reading, hopefully get to hear some comments or tips on improving, always can use those. Thank you and have a good day everyone!

“I think we lost him Sora” I concluded.

After Pooh had run off on his own, we tried trailing after him. It was clear though he was long gone and now we found ourselves looking at a rather large tree. I continued looking around for any sign of the yellow bear but knew there wasn’t a chance in finding him any time soon. I briefly gave up searching, rubbing the back of my neck to try and think where he could have gone off to. When I still didn’t hear a response from Sora, I turned to my side only to notice he wasn’t even here in the first place. Good going, you lost him too.

“Huh!?” I looked around only to catch him circling the tree. I stared with a raised brow, suddenly imaging Sora as my pet dog, watching him continue to go around and around…as if he was chasing something.

“Hey wait!” Sora cried and looked down at a little bush near the tree. I walked over to him and raised a brow.

“Sora, what are you doing?” I demanded causing him to look up.

“There’s somebody hiding here.” Sora pointed out. I raised a brow. Whoever it was must’ve been really small— that’s when I slapped Sora on the head causing the boy to yelp in pain, rubbing the back of his head. He scared Piglet!

“Sora! You scared him.” I exclaimed angrily. “Just imagine being that tiny seeing some huge thing that he never saw before”

Sora rubbed his head and stood up. I kneeled down and sat next to the tree. I gestured Sora to move back and remain totally quiet. The bust made a few rattling noises before Piglet came out, cautiously looking around. And that’s when he noticed me.

“Oh dear! I was j-just……N-Never mind. I’m sorry!” Piglet frantically apologized but I smiled sweetly, kneeling down.

“Don’t be scared. You’re looking for Pooh, right?” I asked. Piglet had stopped fidgeting, seeming to relax at the sound of his friend’s name. He seemed to look between Sora and I, his little hands fiddling together.

“You both know Pooh?” He asked. We both nodded and he sighed in relief.

“Oh, y-you see, I have something for him. I have to take it to Pooh right away!” Piglet explained. I hummed, nodding slowly. Well, we’ll try and help you Piglet but we have to find Pooh ourselves—

“Well I think that’s him over there” Sora said. Pointing behind us, Piglet turned around seeing Pooh walk towards the large tree. I looked over to and stared in disbelief. Really? He now decides to be found. Heh…perfect.

“Oh, Pooh!” Piglet said running over to him. Sora stood up straight as we followed. Pooh was stiffing the air.

“Oh, I believe I smell a delicious something— something like honey!” He said.

“Pooh!” Piglet said running to him. “Hello, Piglet. How have you been?” Pooh asked.

“Oh, I-I’m so glad to see you. I thought you’d gone away. I brought wh-what you asked for.” Piglet said. He handed Pooh a blue balloon. “Thank you, Piglet. Now I can finally have some honey.” Pooh said rubbing his tummy.

“Really? B-But how?”

“I shall hold on to the balloon, and fly like a bee up the Hunny Tree, see.” Piglet tilted his head to the left and blinked a few times.

“But, if you take their honey, won’t the bees be angry?” Piglet asked. Pooh started thinking of something to do when he got something.

“Sora, Michelle can one of you help me get some honey?” he asked. I looked to Sora with pleading eyes. He raised a brow as I began shaking my head.

“Why not?” Sora asked quietly.

“I can’t! I hate bees” I admitted sheepishly. When I was a kid, I got stung pretty badly, ever since, I’ve pretty much ran at the sight of them. I’m starting to sound like a great hero that is afraid of bees. Sarcasm at its best. Sora looked at me in bewilderment.

“You’re afraid of bees?” He repeated. I blushed, crossing my arms roughly against my chest.

“Yes! I can’t stand them! Just help Pooh!” I quickly said, returning the conversation back to where it was supposed to be heading. Sora, however much my efforts might have a point, gave me this look. The look of how this was going to come back and haunt me forever look.

“Sure Pooh, I’ll help you” He said.

Sora tossed Pooh into the air as he gently started floating. Watching safely from the ground, I watched as Sora leaped around on the branches to help Pooh and keep him away from the nasty bees that came from their hives when he began to eat honey from the hole of the tree.

“Will Pooh and Sora be okay being way up there?” Piglet asked me and I nodded.

I want to hug Piglet right now too. GAHH! WHY DO THEY ALL HAVE TO LOOK SO GOSH DARN CUTE! Looking back up, Sora was basically leaning on the tree as Pooh was at the way top of the tree. Wow, I’m surprised they manage to get all the way up there. Pooh came out of the tree and the two made it back safely on the ground. Once then, we joined the two friends on their journey to find the other residents in the Hundred Acre Woods. Piglet suggested to find everyone else since he had that similar idea of everyone disappeared. Following the two small friends, we ended up at a house with a pretty big garden. Pooh and Piglet went into the back while I slowly followed behind Sora.

I whistled the tune for the hundred acre woods as we seemed to be approaching the garden. Little signs were held in front of the vegetables that were resting on the ground above, indicating what was what.

“Wow, whoever lives here must have a lot on their hands taking care of a garden like this” I exclaimed as we walked on the little bridge passing the carrots that were ready to be picked. We went to the back of the house to see Pooh looking into a hole in the wall.

“Look, Rabbit’s house c-came back! But it looks like Rabbit isn’t home.” Piglet exclaimed and turned to us. “Pooh’s been calling and calling but the house says no one’s there.” I glanced to Sora who looked to where Pooh was standing.

“The house is saying no one’s home?” I repeated and looked at Sora.

“Someone has to be saying that” Sora said. We walked to Pooh who was in front of the hole saying “Nobody’s home?” Then a voice said from inside of the hole “That’s right. Nobody!” Sora crossed his arms.

“Let’s just go inside” Sora suggested turning around. Sora followed as I opened the door. I had duck my head a bit to see Pooh crawling through the hole to get in. In front of him stood Rabbit, his head hanging low probably in defeat. “Hello, Rabbit!” he said happily. Piglet walked in through the hole and landed on the ground.

“Why, P-Pooh. What a pleasant surprise. Nice to see you, too, Piglet, and……” He turned around seeing Sora and me. I waved shyly. “Are these new friends?” He asked.

“Oh yes, these are my friends Sora and Michelle” Pooh introduced and began walking through his house. I waved gently but I knew Rabbit seemed more focus on the wandering Pooh.

“P-Pooh, I’m sorry but…..I’m all out of honey at the moment.” Rabbit told the bear nervously.

Sora walked into the house more and looked up. Rabbit, curious of what Sora was looking at, looked up as well. There nestled in the beam of his ceiling was a pot of what probably was honey. I sighed gently, rubbing the back of my neck. All he wanted to do was keep the honey he had, was that so wrong?

“H-Honey? Now, how did that get up there?” Rabbit laughed nervously. He jumped up and grabbed the honey from his little hiding place and walked up to Pooh.

“Would you like some, Pooh? Don’t feel you have to, of course.”

“Oh, thank you, Rabbit. I would like just a small smackeral. I’m quite hungry.” Pooh said. He took the honey and sat down, then started eating it. And eating….and eating

“Um Pooh Bear…you’re not eating that whole pot, are you?” “Rabbit began trying to get his attention away from the honey. Pooh kept eating his honey.

“Once you start there’s no stopping you, is there...” He questioned sadly watching him eat all the honey. Looks like there’s no stopping Pooh once he has his paws on honey.

“I guess we should head outside and see if we could leave” Sora suggested quietly and I frowned. I wanted to stay a little longer. This is actually fun! Not fighting heartless and all! I shrugged absentmindedly and we headed outside.

“So how do you think we can get out of this book?” I asked and Sora shrugged. “If you want to get out, you’ll have to finish it” A voice explained. Huh? I looked up to see an owl landing on a tree branch above us.

“Who are you?” Sora decided to ask.

“I’m Owl, when the pages were scattered from this book, many of the adventures were torn as well. You’ll have to piece them together in order to complete the book and get out” Owl explained.

I blinked and groaned. We’ll have to complete the entire book!? How long will that take!? Oh well, at least I’m in here a little longer, I don’t mind. This however seemed to backtrack everything we were doing on the outside. You know, trying to save a few….couple…hundred worlds from total darkness. No big deal.

“Help! Oh someone help Pooh!” We turned to see Piglet running to us. He tripped by accident but quickly recovered and came up to us. Panting heavily, I knelt down, holding a hand out for him to hold onto to recover his breathe.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Just come inside and look!” He insisted and sprinted back to Rabbit’s house. I glanced over at Sora then at Owl but followed. Once we had returned back to Rabbit’s house, we entered with a startling discovery.

“What…what happened?” Sora asked in disbelief. Pooh was stuck in the hole. All we saw was the back of him, his head must be on the other side.

“He tried to climb out, but then got stuck!” Piglet explained. Rabbit groaned in aggravation, pulling his ears down his face in stress.

“All this because he can’t stop liking honey so much! If Pooh doesn’t slim down, my house will stay plugged up forever!” Rabbit cried, shielding his eyes with his ears now.

“Oh, help and bother. I’m stuck again. I came in through this hole so it must have shrunk” Pooh muffled. I blinked a few times, turning to look at Sora. Well, I feel like I could push him from him and help him out. Or the other way around. Whatever would work best honestly…

“Let’s go outside,” I suggested. They nodded as we head out the door. We went to Pooh as he looked up pouting faintly.

“Oh, how will I eat honey if I’m stuck here? When its lunch time perhaps you could bring me a honey jar” He suggested but Rabbit shook his head roughly. “No honey ‘til you’re unstuck!” Rabbit ordered and Pooh frowned. Rabbit sighed once again, coming towards us with his arms crossed behind his back.

“If Pooh doesn’t slim down, my house will stay plugged up forever! If only there were something we could do….” Then Rabbit snapped his fingers. “Wait, I know! A bit of carrot top juice will do the trick! I have a carrot patch on the other side of the stream.”

I looked to where the stream was and saw the carrot patches.

“The one over there” I asked. “Yes. Carrot top juice is just the ticket to slimming down a Pooh!” He said.

Rabbit turned around and the expression on his face changed. It looked like he just saw a ghost or something else. Something worse.

“Oh, no!” He cried loudly, beginning to break into a run. I looked over see Rabbit attempt to stop an orange blur but the blur was too fast and had suddenly tackled Sora. I tilted my head a little and got a better look.

“Tigger?” I thought in amazement. Wow, he jumps quickly. Tigger looked down at Sora who was staring at him in bewilderment.

“Hey there! Name’s Tigger! T-I-double-guh-RR. That spells Tigger!” He introduced happily. I blinked a few times.

“Well, now! I don’t think I’ve seen you two before!” He exclaimed, looking to me then back to Sora who was still under him.

“Hello, Tigger. You’ve just bounced my new friend Sora. And my other friend is Michelle” Pooh introduced. Tigger looked at Sora for a minute then stood up and waved at Pooh.

“Hey, Pooh! Say, you’re lookin’ mighty uncomfy today. Is that some new exercise? Why, bouncing’ around is a lot more fun.” Tigger said bouncing off Sora.

Sora laid on the ground for a few more seconds before steadily getting back on his feet. “Wh-Why do you bounce around so much, Tigger?” Sora asked while brushing the dirt off his pants.

Tigger was bouncing around me when he stopped and said “Why? ‘Cause bouncin’ is what Tiggers do best!” He then paused, putting a hand over his eyes and began to look around.

“Speaking of which, my bouncin’ spot has gone and disappeared! So for now, this’ll be my new bouncin’ ground” Tigger said, bouncing around.

Rabbit looked to where Tigger was bouncing around and hanged his head down low.

“Tigger’s bouncing will ruin my vegetables! And if we don’t give Pooh some carrot top juice, he’ll be stuck forever” He exclaimed. He then turned to Sora and I with a pleading, desperate look.

“Please help me! Keep Tigger away from my carrots!” Rabbit pleaded. Owl then flew over and watched as Tigger began jumping closer and closer to the carrot patch.

“This is quite a fix. But I have just the solution. Pay attention, now.” Owl exclaimed. He explained to us how we have to basically bounce Tigger back if he tried to land on the carrots.

“This should be interesting” I admitted.

Tigger then started bouncing where we were to protect the carrots. He jumped to the air, and was heading for a carrot when Sora pushed him right back up. He landed on an area with no carrots. He then jumped to an area I was taking care of, but I bounced him back up. So after going back and forth with this little game, we managed to save most of the carrots.

“Say, you did pretty good especially for a non-Tigger! Let’s have another go!” Tigger said.

He then bounced away happily. Rabbit came up and grabbed some carrots, a look of relief on his face. “Thank you so much. Now I’d better make that carrot top juice. I’ll get the rest of the carrots so please wait inside the house.” Rabbit said.

We walked into Rabbit’s house. “Wow that Tigger can bounce” I said, rubbing my shoulder. “Yeah, I know. When he jumped on me, it hurt a lot” Sora said rubbing his neck. Then the door opened and Rabbit came in.

“Oh, what a day! I have Pooh the carrot top juice. All we have to do now is push him out. Just a little one” Rabbit said. “I’ll go outside and make sure nothing happens when he goes” I said.

I walked out the door and went to Pooh. “Oh hello Michelle” Pooh waved and I kneeled down. “Hey Pooh, you’re going to get un-stuck in a minute. Just hang on a second” I told him and got ready to catch him. Then I heard a slam from the other side and Pooh seriously flew by my head.

Um, that didn’t go as planned. “Pooh!?”

I heard a loud crash and I spun around to see him with a jar on his head, sitting beside other knocked down jars. I gasped loudly as I ran to him. I tried getting it off but it wouldn’t come off.

“Hey you okay out there?” Sora yelled from the hole that Rabbit was looking from, terrified.

“Uh sort of” I answered unsurely. I’m okay but Pooh is certainly not. I then turned my attention back to Pooh. “Pooh! Are you okay?” I asked.

“Oh, bother. Where am I? It’s ever so dark in here. Well, it isn’t so bad, I suppose.” I put my ear near the jar to hear some him smacking his lips together. “There is plenty of honey” He exclaimed happily. I stood up and put a hand over my mouth.

That’s when I began laughing. Sora walked out the house and saw Pooh. “Um. Did I hit him too much?” He asked, looking at me. But I couldn’t answer. I was laughing too much. XDD this is too funny.

“Pooh! Don’t eat all the honey!” Rabbit cried. Oh man, this is going to be something I will never forget.

“Wow” I gazed up at the huge oak tree that was on a hill. A small river separated us from it but was connected by a wooden bridge. We left Rabbit’s house to continue to find Pooh’s friends. Pooh and Piglet were on the bridge over the water looking down.

“Look, Pooh. Something is floating this way.” Piglet exclaimed, carefully leaning over the bridge to point to the water. Pooh leaned forward and put a paw over his eyes. “I think you’re right, Piglet. What could it be?” Pooh asked.

As Sora walked onto the bridge while I walked to the edge of the river, peering into the river to see what exactly was in the river. AWWW! Poor Eeyore! He wasn’t moving in the water as he let the current of the river take him.

“Why, it looks like Eeyore! Hello, Eeyore, if it is you.” Pooh greeted, waving at the donkey. Eeyore stopped floating, beginning to weakly swim and looked up.

“Hello Pooh. Yes, it’s me. Could you pull me out? That is, if it’s not too much trouble. Of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Eeyore exclaimed gloomily and with that Eeyore began going down the river. My jaw widen in horror. Eeyore…is so depressing. I NEED TO HUG HIM!

“I’m coming!” I shouted. I seriously leaped into the water and swam up to Eeyore. I pulled Eeyore onto the grass and Sora helped me up while Pooh and Piglet came by to help Eeyore. Eeyore shook his body and looked over at Pooh’s direction.

“Thank you, Pooh. Thank you, other you.” He thanked. I smiled began twisting my hair to get rid of the water. Gotta put it back into a ponytail before it puffs up….

“You know, floating along out there, it seemed like something was missing….and something’s still missing” Eeyore exclaimed and tilted his head. Piglet had noticed and was trying to get attention.

“Why, Eeyore’s tail is gone! Is that what’s missing?” Piglet asked. Eeyore turned his head to see. His expression remained the same and he sighed again. “Yep, lost it again. Wonder where it went this time” He muttered before looking back at us.

“It’s not much of a tail, though I’m sort of attached to it. But I don’t know why anybody’d look for it. Probably won’t find it anyway.” Pooh had that thinking face when he turned to us.

“Sora, Michelle, why don’t we all look for Eeyore’s tail?” “Sure, why not?” Sora agreed and I gave a nod. “We’ll try our best and find it!” I added.

“Lost something?” We all looked up and saw Owl, flapping his wings to keep up in the air. “Searching from a high place is the quickest way to find it!” he explained and Sora put a hand to his chin.

“Owl, can you fly up high and help us find Eeyore’s tail?” Sora suggested but Owl shook his head sadly. “Sorry, but my eyes aren’t what they used to be. Too much reading, you know. But I can offer good advice! Of course you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Go ahead” I said and Sora nodded in agreement.

“See that swing up there?” Me and Sora looked up and saw the big Oak tree with a swing attached to it. “Yeah”

“Take Pooh there. You’re a bit too big for the swing, but Pooh should fit nicely. I’ll you more when you get there.” And with that Owl flew up towards the tree.

“When he said ‘swing’, what do you think he meant by that?” I asked curiously and Sora shrugged in response. “I don’t know, but I guess we’ll figure it out soon enough” Sora said.

Sora and Pooh left to go towards the tree and I squatted down and looked at Piglet. “Hey, Piglet, you wanna help me look around down here?” I asked.

Piglet nodded. “What does Eeyore’s tail look like?” I asked. “It has a pink ribbon that is attached to his tail” Piglet described.

All right, a pink ribbon with a tail attached to it, that’s all. It shouldn’t be that hard to find. I curiously looked around, from the other side of the bridge where Sora and Pooh were to where Rabbit and Eeyore were near his house of sticks. Wait his house. I saw something there that might’ve been his tail. But just as I was about to look, I felt Piglet tug on my jean.

“Hm?”

“Is that Pooh bear?” I blinked and looked up only to gasp loudly. “Huh?” Pooh was soaring through the air and I watched until he completely crashed on Eeyore’s house. SORA! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS!?

I rushed over while Rabbit stood in horror at the mess while Pooh quickly recovered. Eeyore looked down and blinked. “Well there it is…” He exclaimed. I looked down and picked up the little tail. Sora rushed over and noticed the house in ruin. “Whoops…”

“How’s it looking?” Tigger asked, arriving moments ago and had helped searched for a little. I placed Eeyore’s tail back on and smiled.

“There we go.” I gleamed and stood up straight.

Eeyore looked at his tail and swung it around. “It’s not much of a tail, but it’s mine. Thanks, everyone.” Eeyore thanked. Pooh smiled, “I wish we could put the Hundred Acre Wood back the way it was, too!” That was a nice little heartwarming thing.

“Say! Now I remember why I came here! It came back buddy ol’ pal!” Tigger exclaimed to Pooh who tilted his head. “What came back?” He asked and Tigger jumped in delight. “My bouncing spot of course! Come on fellas we have to check it out!”

I raised a brow and looked at Sora. We followed the group though Rabbit didn’t. (“Oh no! I’m not going! I have to check something out!” He insisted. I think he just wanted to be away from Tigger)

When we got there, I stared around at all the little see-saws that were around. A little kangaroo was jumping on one with Tigger and I smiled. Roo is here! Yay! XD

“This here is my bouncin’ spot! We can bounce around here all day!” Tigger exclaimed.

“Nothing beats bouncin’!” His prodigy Roo agreed. “You wanna bounce, too, Sora, Michelle? It’s lotsa fun!” I kept nodding my head watching them go up and down. Whoa, I was never one for up and down things.

“Okay, I guess we’ll do it!” Almost instantly I snapped my head towards Sora with an utterly disbelief look. Oh this is not going to end well. “All righty then! Follow us” Tigger instructed.

“This is for the bee thing” Sora mouthed and I frowned. All right, I’ll do this once. He then jumped off the see-saw and onto one of the tree stumps with Roo following quickly to his side.

“Are you sure about this idea Sora?” I asked, following him.

“It’s seems like fun, and we should be used to jumping from place to place after all we’ve been through” He added. I sighed. I hated to admit it, but he was right, heck, we jumped off a cliff into a molten lava pit to fight a crazy genie. If that’s not crazy I don’t know what is anymore.

“We’ll have a race! Follow us and we’ll see who can bounce the fastest!” Tigger and Roo readied themselves as did Sora and I. Leaping across tree stumps, who knew I was going to get some training in today? In a book? With my childhood favorite characters?

“GO!”

I nearly tripped when the three charged off but I didn’t stop. It was so quick jumping from the stumps, it was pretty enjoyable. Then after that, we had a challenge of somehow landing on the log from the see-saw. Let’s just say I think I screamed when I was in the air.

Having fun doing that, Rabbit came in and looked bewildered. “Pooh, Piglet, Owl and Roo got lost in the mud field nearby! I almost got lost myself” He exclaimed worriedly and Tigger gasped. “Roo! Imma coming little pal!” He shouted and ran down the path quickly. I looked at Sora and he nodded immediately. We walked down a muddy path seeing Pooh looking around.

“What are you doing Pooh?” Sora asked curiously at the little bear. Pooh ‘sshed’ him and looked down at the ground to reveal little foot prints in the ground.

“Quiet or they’ll get away!” He exclaimed quietly. I raised a brow and looked at the footprints. “Who?” Sora asked.

“The people who took everyone away. See their footprints?” These footprints look awfully like Pooh’s.

“We were all sticking together to make sure no one got lost again. But then, I saw some footprints that needed following” Pooh explained and pointed at them.

“So I did. Suddenly everyone was gone. Bad people must have taken them away!” Pooh frowned and I giggled. Sora looked at me and I whispered it to him.

“Actually Pooh these footprints are…” Sora began and looked at the sad little bear. He shook his head and smiled. “Anyway, we’ll help you look for your friends!” Sora changed his mind causing Pooh to smile brightly.

“Smooth Sora” I whispered and giggled.

So we split into a group. Sora and Pooh checked one place while I checked another. The mud was made a sticky noise as I walked through. I looked around. Where could they have disappeared?

“Found Eeyore!” I heard Sora shout and I gave a quick “All right” as a response.

I looked around having come to a tree when I looked up. “Roo!” I gasped seeing the little kangaroo up so high. “Sorry” he rubbed his head nervously and jumped down.

“I was trying to bounce as high as Tigger but then I noticed I got lost” I shook my head and sighed. “Oh boy” With Roo following me, I notice Rabbit was going through a tunnel causing me to raise a brow.

“Rabbit?” I asked and he came to a stop. “Oh, I followed Owl after he came here to try to help find them and I suppose I got lost as well” He explained and I slapped my head.

Is this how easily people get lost these days?

After finding Rabbit, I heard Sora yelled that he had found Owl and Tigger. But where was Piglet. “M-Michelle!” I looked down to see Piglet running over to me and jumped.

“I got scared when everyone disappeared and hid” He told me and I smiled. “Well everyone’s here again so don’t worry” I exclaimed. Piglet smiled in response. We all reunited back on the hill and I gasped.

The moon was shining brilliantly in the sky with stars in the sky. I smiled, looking up at the sky in awe. I guess we did it! We finished the book, going through 6 adventures of the 6 torn pages. I sighed in relief. It was fun while it lasted.

“I’m so glad we’re all back together again” Piglet exclaimed brightly and laughed. “I didn’t know what to do when I was all alone” He admitted and Tigger turned to him.

“Aw, Piglet, you gotta be brave” Tigger told him. Piglet raised a brow.

“You weren’t lonely at all?” He asked and Tigger shook his head. He jumped to a stand and turned to face us.

“Lonely? Are you kiddin’? I’m a Tigger! The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is I’m the only one.” He jumped up and I raised a brow. And they made an entire movie just for that reason that he was alone.

“But I do admit friends are awfully fun too!” He added and smiled. I smiled but turned my head when I heard Pooh say “Think. Think. Think.” Sora had turned his head to.

“Hey Pooh. What are you thinking about now?” He asked the bear. He looked up and let his arms fall to his sides. “Oh, well, I’m just thinking about what to think about” He said to Sora. Sora smiled and then looked over to me. Wait…oh no. He’s not thinking to leave now?

“Now?” I asked and he nodded. I sighed and stood up.

“Well, we’re off” Sora said and everyone eyes widen.

“Sora, Michelle, where are you going?” Piglet asked. I turned while Sora walked to the edge. “I’m gonna go look for my friends. They’re waiting for me” Sora explained. I nodded. Technically, that’s what I’m doing as well.

“Bounce on back again!” Tigger waved and Piglet smiled.

“I hope you find your friends” Piglet said and Sora smiled. “Thanks Piglet.” He jumped off the hill and I turned to them. “We’ll see each other again” I assured them and smiled. Giving a small wave, I followed after Sora who was already on the bridge.

“Hey!” He stopped walking and I frowned.

“Do you think we actually finished?” I asked him and he nodded. “Yeah, I can feel it” He exclaimed. But his eyes wandered up and I followed to look to see everyone waving on the hill. “Sora, Michelle, don’t forget…” Pooh said loudly.

“That we’ll always be here. If you’d like to visit again that is”

[Merlin’s House]

“WHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

A loud crash caused Donald and Goofy to jump and look down to where Merlin’s books where. Both Sora and I were buried under them. “You’re back!” They chimed and rushed over to help us.

“Ugh, my head” I moaned and rubbed the back of my head.

“Where were you two!?” Donald demanded and I looked at him in slight surprise. “You didn’t know where we went?” Sora asked when Goofy pulled him the pile. They both shook their heads. “You guys just went poof!” Goofy explained.

“Merlin said you guys would come back but we didn’t know where ya went” Donald added.

I looked over at Sora and then the book on the table. I got up and walked over to the book, picking it up and smiling. “Sora, check this out” I offered him the book and he looked at the cover.

There we were. Sora holding Pooh’s hand and Piglet was holding his other hand while I was holding Roo on my shoulder with Tigger jumping along my side. Sora smiled and put the book down. “So where did you guys go?” Donald asked. “Into the book” I told him truthfully and he gawked. “WHAT!?”

“It’s the truth”

“So are we ready to leave?” Sora asked Goofy who nodded.

“Yeah, and Fairy God Mother gave us some new summons after I gave her the stones” I blinked and looked seeing my keyblade glowing three different colors. Green, blue, and a dark red color. So that means we must’ve gotten Bambi, Dumbo, and Mushu! All right!

Thanking Merlin and Fairy Godmother, we left Traverse Town, ready for whatever the new world has to throw at us.

“Let’s head onto the new world!” Donald exclaimed brightly, taking the seat next to Sora letting him drive for once.

“Hold on, Donald. We don’t even know what’s out there” Goofy retorted but Donald ignored him. “Aw phooey, let’s just go!” Donald insisted and I gave a nod. Let’s just finish this quickly. Find my friend and end this.


	20. All Hell Is About To Break Loose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is about something awesome. Hallow Bastion apparently. I bet its really good, so go ahead and read it! I'm sure there will be plenty of Sora and Michelle and Doofy, I mean Goofy, and and maybe Riku and you know, other Disney people! 8D so have fun reading! This has been a message from someone who is NOT the author, but someone who hacked her account ^w^ Sincerely, Her Best Friend

[Gummi Ship]

It felt like days since we left Traverse Town. Two or three days since I last talked to Hoshi. I keep coming closer and closer to the end of this journey and I’m beginning to feel anxious. That day, I sometimes wish that she didn’t say those words. I am a part of you. What does she mean by that?

I mean, as I thought about her face more it kind of seems similar to mine. The problem is that I don’t possess green eyes or black hair, I don’t think anyone in my family has a similar look to them. I crossed my arms and stared dully at the monitor. Hoshi, what did you know and why couldn’t I know. You keep leading me down this path with bait of answers only to end up with more questions in tow.

I rubbed my neck, sighing softly as I focused on what I was even more worried about. My friend, whoever it may be was in Hollow Bastion and somehow Hoshi knew. I clutched my necklace in my hand, looking down to the ying-yang that reflected in the light. Why would she want to tell me about something like that….what is her end game?

“How is she connected to me?” I whispered. I hummed softly, tracing over the necklace in thought.

Suddenly, lights began to flicker onto the monitor causing me to avert my attention to it. My eyes widen and I jumped from the seat in shock. Wait a second. Those lights were warning for enemy coming in. Oh no.

“What’s wrong?” Sora asked, turning his stare to me while Goofy and Donald walked into the room. I bolted around in the seat, my eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Remember what Cid had said? About all the heartless?” I demanded. He nodded and his eyes slowly widen. “It’s happening!” My screen began lighting up, dots upon dots of heartless enemies appearing from all sorts of angles. Donald and Sora suddenly rushed over and looked.

“OH MY GOD!”

“WHAT THE!?!?” Now an alarm was going off and red lights were flashing. My heart raced as Donald and Goofy immediately began to head to a seat, ready to take control. I feel like we’re about to be very screwed. This first wave was not going to be a pretty sight.

“Hang on!” Sora said as he turned the ship sharply.

The ship began tossing and turning, I feel like we did a barrel roll. I gripped the desk as firmly as possible, already feeling sick to my stomach. Everyone almost went flying out there seats because a heartless ship rammed into us. Sora managed to stay in his seat only get knocked off once by Goofy who hit him by accident. Aw crap!

I launched myself at the seat, gripping the steering wheel and firmly putting the seat belt on. All right damn it, all those years complaining about the Gummi Missions better pay off right now. I exhaled sharply, steering the ship through the chaos, avoiding as many of the heartless ships as possible. With everyone everywhere at the moment, we couldn’t take these guys head on. Even if we wanted to, we don’t have enough gun power or defense on this Gummi Ship. Several ships had railed into us and I only wish these guys would have reached to start firing.

“OUF!” The ship was rammed severally, my forehead whipped forward against the hard steering wheel. I groaned, my eyes dazing immediately and I knew I couldn’t drive at this rate. I would kill everyone. I groaned, unbuckling myself and knelt to the ground, gripping onto the arm chair for support.

“DONALD!”

The next minute the ship was hit again and I could hear the three boys freak out again, when suddenly I got a feather hand and I sighed in relief. “You have to drive! DRIVE! Shit!”

I began sliding backwards while I noticed Donald leap into the seat and slam on four seatbelts. Where the heck were those other two seatbelts when I needed them? I crashed into the wall and groaned.

“Oww!”

I waited for the ship to level out before attempting to sprint over to the seat when the ship was hit again causing me to hit the ground, sliding again at an angle. I gasped for air and groaned. I hated when my back hit the ground. Very painful and annoying. Especially when the ship tilted forward and I began sliding backwards again.

“Not again!” I cried loudly.

I ended up sliding once again, passing Goofy who was shooting at the heartless ships, his legs hurling upwards as the ship tilted in a weird angle. I give all the freaking credit for Goofy to be able to hold on. Another ram and I grimaced, feeling the blood from my forehead slide. Gosh damn it.

“Cura!” The emerald light passed over me and I sighed in relief, feeling a slight boost in energy and took my chance to bolt over along with Sora to take care of the other guns, assisting Goofy in enemy fire.

“DONALD! ARE WE CLOSE!?” Sora demanded when suddenly the ship was rammed again. I kept my eyes peeled on the targets and button smashed like no tomorrow. I could have been a pro when it came to shooting these bad boys down. They were going down like no tomorrow, cept the fucking ships that kept ramming us!

Suddenly the ship was rammed once more and nearly everyone was thrown off their as the ship came to a halt. Silenced entered. Then came the groaning in pain. I looked at my legs that were up in the air, using the wall as support while I was staring at the ceiling. How….did I end up like this?

“Are we alive?” I questioned.

If this was where the heart is over my body and I’m floating in space, this isn’t exactly how I pictured it. I was staring at the ceiling, my forehead was still hurting and my back was joining the party. I groaned wearily, rubbing my face as I tried to straighten my line of vision once again.

“Did we make it?” I heard Sora ask.

I groaned in pain, my head dropping back gently onto the ground. I slid my legs down to the ground and sat up, rubbing my head in pain. That was the worst ride in the universe of anything. We certainly weren’t prepared for this. I looked seeing Sora crawling from under the table….how did he get there?

I blinked, focusing on Sora’s appearance when Goofy appeared from the hallway, his eyes spinning.

”Y-yeah we’re here” Goofy confirmed weakly. Sora and I met each other gaze and we sighed in relief, both dropping our heads. For the next twenty of minutes we decided to relax in the Gummi Ship, letting it sink in that we had somehow survived that insane onslaught of heartless ships.

“Cid wasn’t joking around when he said about all these heartless!” Sora admitted. I rolled my eyes momentarily, bickering at the back of my mind that he shouldn’t have doubted Cid’s words in the first place.

“Imagine how it’s going to be when we get into the world” Donald said.

Sora’s and Donald shuddered at the thought. I stretched and stood straight, my eyes narrowing as the Gummi Ship descended closely to the ground below. It seemed like we wouldn’t have any more time for chatting. When the Gummi Ship landed on the ground, we all looked to each other and silently nodded. Sora, Goofy, and I began to open the doors but noticed Donald wasn’t following, his hands still wrapped tightly around the wheel.

Err…..

“Umm, Donald, you’re coming?” Sora asked. Donald wiggled in the seat but his hands refused to let go of the wheel. “I’M STUCK! HELP!”

If sweat dropping was possible, I think everyone did.

After removing Donald from the chair, which literally almost sent us hurling out the ship, we properly got off the Gummi Ship to land upon the shattered concrete floor below. My mouth opened up to say something but nothing came. This place was amazing. Water surrounded us with walls that had water moving up instead of down. Boulders, resembling what once could’ve been streets, were scattered around on the water and even in the air. It felt so weird standing here. It’s too amazing to try and describe this place.

I looked around towards the ground before looking upwards, seeing the Gummi Ship disappearing into the sky. Hopefully it fixes itself with Donald’s magic he provided for it. It took a heavy beating unfortunately.

“Gawrsh, look at that!” Goofy pointed up and we all looked to see the fog beginning to clear up in the sky to see a LARGE castle. I gasped quietly, taken aback by that site.

I haven’t seen anything that huge and menacing. Well…beside all of New York with its intimidating towers. But this….this was insane, the towers were tall but this was completely menacing. A complete destruction to what Radiant Gardens used to be.

“I know this place” Sora said slowly causing both Donald and Goofy to look at him. “Hmm, that’s strange” Goofy rubbed his head while Sora put his hand to his chest.

“I wonder why…..I feel this warmth inside, right here.” Sora said, touching to where his heart is. Donald came up to him, his bill quirked in an unamused fashion.

“Aw, you’re just hungry,” Donald retorted causing Sora to turn to him, frowning. “Hey, I’m serious!” Sora said. Suddenly a roar erupted from above, shaking the very ground we stood and caused us to look up in the direction where it came from.

“It came from up there!” I said pointing up. Beast was up there, we had to go and help him!

“Let’s go!” Sora said.

The three ran across the water and to the first floating stone causing me to blink. I stared at the water for a while till I cocked my head to the right. In the game I remembered you can actually STAND on the water. I bit the bottom of my lip and decided to test that. I put one foot on the water and pushed it. It didn’t sink, my foot didn’t sink. I slowly put my other foot on and I found myself standing on water. My mouth dropped and hanged opened for about 10 seconds before I started cheering

“I CAN STAND ON WATER!” this was something to cheer about.

I was like Jesus who apparently was a ninja. I smiled widely, unable to believe what I was currently doing. I jumped up and down on the water to see if I really was doing it. The minute however I was going to follow after them, my foot fell into the water.

“What the!?” I suddenly fell through the water. I held my breath and swam to the surface. I gasped for air and looked around. What the hell!?

Sora, Donald, and Goofy could walk on water but I can’t!?

That’s just not fair. Fate is seriously against me.

I swam up to the rock and shook my head. I don’t like you water! I pulled the water out of my hair and looked at the rocks. I groaned in annoyance and rubbed the back of my neck. However, my annoyance had suddenly turned to shock, looking back up towards where the others were supposed to be. Oh no, I needed to hurry.

“I guess I just need to jump then,” I murmured and took a step back.

I sprinted and leapt across, landing pretty much roughly on my knees. I hissed, unable to stop from running again, leaping up to catch the rock suspended in the air. I grunted, somehow managing to pull myself up and I looked up, panting heavily. I needed to get there, before Sora would end up being left alone. Could that be changed if I was there?!

I waited patiently, watching as the rocks dropped down and up to meet with another, taking my chance to leap across and continue my ascension. Finally reaching where I think I needed to be, I climbed up, hauling myself over the edge. Oh god. That was exhausting.

“God damn all these rocks!” I groaned. I rubbed my arms and looked around before finally noticing something. Nobody was here. Oh jeez. Don’t tell me they left me here. My mouth opened up and the words just escaped loudly.

“OH COME ON!” I slapped my forehead and looked towards the giant castle of Hollow Bastion.

“Sora and Beast must’ve gone ahead already!” I growled. I slapped my forehead again, dragging it down roughly before spitting to the side. All right, I needed to catch up to them then, I can’t let this stop me!

I ran in a full force towards the staircase, noticing the platform that lead to the castle had arrived. I hesitated to step onto the platform but swallowing whatever fear I had I walked inside of the platform. Something locked that caused me to look around, gripping onto the railing.

Three things I planning on doing when getting to Hollow Bastion. One, Kick Riku’s ass. I was enjoy or regret ever hoping for that. Two: find my friend who supposedly is here, and last but not least—

“You’re going to be cooked duck if I see you again Donald Duck!” I bellowed.

I held on when the platform suddenly jerked forward. I felt awfully nervous hanging on and I looked back. That probably wasn’t the best decision considering how the clouds began to swept up in front of me. I grimaced, holding onto the railing with all my might in case the worse was to happen. The clouds continued to infest the area and roll over the platform. I waited patiently, feeling my heart pound in anxiety. When the clouds finally began to move past, the brief rays of sunshine clearing the view, I was left with an astounding view.

“Whoa…” I uttered quietly. The view was incredible, the castle was massive in size, already emitting a strange, foreshadowing of death. I could already tell I was in a bad position due to the fact that there were clouds below the castle. Was I THAT high already? ‘If I fall…’ I gulped and slowly pulled myself back onto the platform. I didn’t want to have to think ‘what if’ I fell.

Suddenly the platform slowly came to a stop and I turned only to freeze in terror. The castle was enormous. Not just enormous, I mean like you could keep staring at it and it just seems to keep getting bigger! What the hell!?

“Oh my god” I spaced each word out loudly and stepped off the platform. The platform began to move back, making me feel nervous again. I was alone and I had no idea how many heartless I would face here.

I cautiously began to walk around. I suppose I should find Sora and Beast down in that cavern where they’re probably trying to unlock the door—

_It’s opened_

I jerked to a stop when I heard the loud, creaking sound of gears winding and turning. I looked to see the door handles shift in place and turn in another direction. I stepped back a couple steps and looked forward. The door began to open slightly, enough for someone to walk in and out of. I hummed softly, rather more focused on what had allowed me to realize that the doors would open up.

“Now that’s something you don’t see everyday,” I exclaimed quietly. I was going to move forward when something stopped me. A hazy figure appeared before me and I groaned lightly in annoyance. I should’ve known that this was going to happen now. I should’ve expected that.

“Here to enlighten me about something Hoshi?” I demanded, crossing my arms and faced the door of Hollow Bastion.

My only obstacle now standing between the door and I. Her. She leaned against the door coolly, her eyes closed in a concentration while she was tapping her fingers impatiently on her crossed arms. She opened her eyes and stared at me for a minute. I seemed to reflect her impatient attitude with a hand on my hip, hoping she would get the point that I want her to move.

“I’m glad you made it” She exclaimed. My eyes widen slightly, rather astounded. Whoa! She just talked! Words were actually forming out of her mouth!! Well that’s new for sure.

Hoshi tilted her head, looking at the empty space beside me.

“Sora’s gone huh?” She asked curiously. I grimaced lightly but her stare demanded an answer.

“Yes” I replied irritably. Her eyes narrowed and she asked once more, in a softer tone, “So is Donald and Goofy?”

I nodded as a respond causing her to stand up straight. She rested her hands behind her back as she kept a straight stare.

“You see, you can’t change the natural instincts of them. They were designed for this,” Hoshi explained. I raised a brow, wondering where this was coming from. I shook my head, scoffing as she came over, about to put a hand on my shoulder. I stiffened, taking a step away from her.

“I don’t…..understand….why you’re trying to mess with my head…” I expelled. “Telling me they are real, then trying to tell me they’re not real. Why are you trying to fuck around with me when I know this is all real?!” I gestured to the vast space around us.

Hoshi frowned, shaking her head in disappointment. She rubbed a temple on her forehead when suddenly, I noticed something different. For a split second, her entire appearance changed. I could catch glimpse of white and brown but….it seemed….Hoshi….is an entirely different person than I’ve been speaking to this whole time.

“I’ve told you don’t belong here for a reason Michelle, your body….won’t be able to handle the transition from your universe to this one…I’m telling you…you won’t be able to live.” My eyes widen in horror, everything I had ever known just being tossed out the window in a burning flame.

“WHAT?!” I demanded. Her attention darted to the side, muttering something to herself when she looked back up.

“Once your friend is safe, you’ll have to make your decision upon returning to Traverse Town,” Hoshi said strictly.

I opened my mouth to say something when suddenly she disappeared in a flash. I jumped, looking around. Where did she go?! I WASN’T FINISHED TALKING TO HER. I growled viciously, gripping my hair in irritation. God damn it!

“MICHELLE!” I was about to turn when suddenly I felt arms lunge around me. I nearly lost balance, bending down to support the weight on my back and my own weight. “ACK!” I looked at the hands and noticed the white gloves. I blinked wildly before turning my head, noticing the spikes of brown hair peaking over my shoulder.

“Sora?” I asked in disbelief and whirled around though the brunette refused to let go.

“You’re alright! I can’t believe it! Where did you go!?” Sora demanded quickly causing me to blink in surprise. I opened my mouth to say something but stopped when I saw Beast. Oh shit, I blinked wildly. Whoa…he’s huge. And I thought Cloud was tall. He’s TALLER! Beast was looking directly at me and I definitely felt nervous. Sora noticed and turned.

“Hey Beast! This is one of my friends I was talking about! I managed to find her!” Sora exclaimed brightly, unfazed by Beast’s intimidating look. Beast looked to Sora then to me then back.

“Good for you, now let’s go” Beast passed us and I glanced at Sora. He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. I frowned slightly. Should I ask where Donald and Goofy were? I was about to but I shook my head and smiled at Sora.

“Let’s go Sora” I said and turned to the large doors. Sora eyes widen slightly but he nodded and followed. The doors closed behind us, causing the three of us to turn cautiously.

“Be on your guard. They’re close, I can feel it. Are you ready for them?” Beast asked, turning the two of us. We entered the first entrance hall, eyes wandering around wearily and cautiously.

“RAAAAW!” I spun around just to see the doors close behind Beast as he charged into the hall. I gasped but a voice cut me off guard from running over to the door. Wait, what!? All this of happened in roughly a few minutes. What the hell?!

“Quit while you can.” Oh no….that can’t be. It’s Riku. Turning around, I saw the silver hair teen with Donald and Goofy, awkwardly looking between him and Sora. Sora gave him a cold glance and shook his head.

“No. Not without Kairi.” Sora said.

“The darkness will destroy you.” Riku exclaimed, having a change in outfits. I turned my head to the side. Damn, I knew I was smiling but his outfit is too damn stupid!!! I covered my mouth briefly, coughing roughly in my palm. I can’t take him seriously! I don’t think I could ever take him seriously when he wore that outfit. For pete sakes! He’s wearing a hula skirt!!

Get angry, get angry. The darkness will destroy you he says. I scoffed angrily, looking back to him.

“You’re wrong Riku.” I snapped out of it and turned my attention to Sora. He stared straight at Riku, his eyes full of determination and will. “The darkness may destroy my body, but it can’t touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends. It’ll never die!” Sora declared and took out his wooden sword.

I took out the keyblade as Riku smirked. I hesitated but suddenly looked around to see several heartless surrounding me. “Not again” I thought as one jumped into the air. I slashed at it viciously, swinging my blade around to notice all the heartless were solely focusing on there attention on me. Well fucking shit.

“Sora, be careful!” I called out. Another heartless had leapt into the air and I swiftly slashed at it,

“Really…..Well, we’ll just see about that!” Riku held out his hand and a dark flame began to form in the palm of his hands. Donald and Goofy gasped and looked at each other unsurely. I slashed down at another heartless and looked up.

“Sora! Move!” I called out but the flame launched at him and my eyes widen.

Oh my god, he’s going to get hit! No! Suddenly, lightning erupted around me, hitting all the heartless that surrounded me. I gasped and looked over to Donald. He eyed me for one second and then moved his wand behind his back. He-He saved me? That’s when Goofy appeared in front of Sora who was bracing for the impact. He used his shield and deflected the flame. Sora opened his eyes and gasped when he saw Goofy.

“Sora ain’t gonna go anywhere!” Goofy declared and held his shield up. “Goofy!” I cheered and rushed over to Sora and him. Riku eyes narrowed and darkened.

“You’d betray your king?” Riku questioned. Goofy blinked a few times but shook his head.

“Not on your life! But I’m not gonna betray my friends either, cause’s they become some of my best buddies after all we’ve been thru together!” Goofy explained, looking over to us and giving a thumbs up.

I smiled at Goofy widely at Goofy, rubbing my eyes. My god. I then looked to Donald who was looking really confused, eyeing Riku then at Goofy, Sora, and I.

“See ya later, Donald. Could ya tell the king I’m really sorry?” Goofy asked. I smiled as Donald shook his head.

“Hold on, Goofy! We’ll tell him together.” Donald said. He ran over to us, joining to look specifically to Sora and I. His face seemed to flush in embarrasement and he rubbed the back of his feathery head. “Well you know. All for one and one for all.” Donald admitted. I looked to Sora and then briefly back to Donald, picking the duck in a wild hug, squeezing him tightly.

“I guess you’re stuck with us Sora……” I said with Donald and Goofy nodding in agreement. Sora looked to each of us and smiled softly before looking at the ground, sniffing gently.

“Thanks a lot. Donald, Goofy, Michelle.” Sora said.

“How will you fight without a weapon?” Riku asked. “I know now I don’t need a Keyblade. I’ve got a better weapon. My heart.” Riku’s smirk faded as he frowned. “Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?” He asked.

“Although my heart may be weak, it’s not alone. It’s grown with each new experience, and it’s found a home with all the friends I’ve made. I’ve become a part of their heart just as they’ve become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then…if they don’t forget me then our hearts will be one.” Sora said. He took out the wooden sword and held it up in a fighting position.

“I don’t need a weapon. My friends are my power!” Suddenly the keyblade left Riku’s hand then appeared right back to Sora’s. BOOYA! SORA WINS! Oh yeah! Sweet victory! I smirked as Riku glared at us. He held out his hand and a dark blade came to his hand. I took out my keyblade while Goofy and Donald readied themselves.

Now the real battle starts.

I swung up, my keyblade flashing into my hands and took a stance, readying for whatever Riku has to throw at us. He lifted his hand and casted that dark fira spell again which we jumped away from.

“RAH!” Riku swung at Sora who blocked quickly. He was going after Sora first, -3- Oh hell no. You’re getting what you deserve since the beginning of this horrible experience!!!

“Thundara!!!” I shouted. The lightning aimed towards Riku but he dodged and turned his attention at me, sneering at me in annoyance but I smirked.

“That’s for everything in Monstro!” I said quietly. Donald and Goofy both charged at Riku, Donald yelling Blizzardara and Goofy charging at him with his shield. Riku just hastily dodged their attacks and raised his sword. He swung at them and knocked them both away from him.

“Ha!” I leaped forward causing the silverette to turn. That’s when I began my relentless attack. Oh the thoughts that were going through my head at that single moment of fighting.

‘DIEEE!’ Was the main one. I slashed back and forth while Riku kept blocking, he would once in a while attack but I would jump back and continue the bashing he deserved. I wasn’t going to hold back this time, not once!

“Dark fira!” He yelled and my eyes widen. Okay maybe for a second. I dodged roll out the way but I felt a burning sensation on my shoulder. Looking quickly, I noticed it was on fire. FOR FREAKING SAKES! I pulled off my jacket and threw it to the floor angrily. This is not the time for worrying over my jacket. Sora came back, after having to cure Donald and Goofy who were also by his side, and the three of them attacked Riku at the same time.

What can I say that happened after that? Well, Riku blocked Sora’s attack, threw him across the floor that he almost hit the pillar but Donald and Goofy actually did.

“Guys!” I called out. I clenched my teeth and turned to Riku. Oh, he’s done it now. He burned my jacket and attacked my friends. The two big no-no’s in my book have been broken and now his arms and legs are about to be broken. “AHHH!” I charged forward and began the relentless attack but Riku was getting faster. He continuously dodged and began to more openly attack at me. I felt blood drip from my cheek from the attack that nearly got my head. Thank god for ducking.

“Michelle duck!” Right-o! I ducked down, looking up to see Sora leap over me and attack Riku.

“Help Donald and Goofy all right!?” He said loudly, blocking most of Riku’s strong attacks and when he had the chance, attacked him with his speedy moves. I nodded and rushed over to them. Donald was stuck to the wall and under him was Goofy, clearly knocked out.

“Donald! Goofy!” I poked at Donald who fell from the pillar and onto the ground, only letting a small croak out. Yup, he’s knocked out too. I bit my lip and crossed my hands over each other and stood before them. Closing my eyes, I focused on the one spell that I needed. “Curaga” I muttered, looking down at my hands.

They began to glow brightly green and both Goofy and Donald shined green before they both abruptly sat up.

“What happened”

“Is it breakfast already?” Were there replies, though Donald and I gave an odd look to Goofy. He must’ve gotten hit harder than I originally thought. “You guys got knocked out” I explained to them and Donald grabbed his wand and angrily shot a glare at Riku. “Why I oughta—!”

But he stopped and he suddenly began grinning. “What’s that look?” I asked slowly and Donald stood up. “Remember that combination spell we did in the coliseum?” Donald asked, looking between Goofy and I. We both nodded and my eyes widen. He wants to use that again?

“All right! I’m up for it! But we have to wait for Sora to get away from Riku so we could get him and finish him off!” I said, clenching my hand to a fist.

Donald and Goofy nodded and I turned around to look at Riku and Sora fighting. Then, I realized that these two were best friends before this craziness happened. They lived a simply life, trying to pursue a further extent to the boundaries of their world. I frowned.

Darkness had to play a role in turning Riku to this. Both wanted to save Kairi but are doing it in very different ways. It’s almost sad to realize this. “Michelle” I shook my head and looked at Goofy waving his hand in front of my face. “You okay, you’re zoning out” Goofy asked and I smiled, giving a short nod. “Yeah” I pointed my keyblade forward and towards Riku. I wasn’t going to miss this time.

“Thundara!” I shouted and the bolts of lightning appeared once more. Both boys took noticed and jumped out of the way and Donald pointed his wand out. “Now!”

“Let’s go!” I held out my hand while Goofy threw his shield. “Blizzardara!” Donald and I casted the icy spell that coated the shield, it looked like a miniature boulder. Riku didn’t even notice it till it hit him squarely in the chest and seat him flying across the floor. I panted, beginning to feel exhausted from using magic. We all held our weapons as Riku panted. His weird ‘evil’ hula-skirt outfit disappeared and his regular outfit returned.

He looked up at us, his aqua was so icy it kinda scared me. That glare seriously could kill someone. He then turned his attention away and ran off. Sora took a step forward but didn’t go off after him.

The sound of doors opening caused me to turn and I smiled faintly when Beast came back in. “So you’re heart has won this battle” Beast said, looking at Sora who turned to face him as well. He simply nodded before looking back to where Riku ran off.

I walked over to my jacket and picked it up. Yeah, it was completely burned; even small dark flames were still on it, attempting to finish the job. My eyes narrowed and I dropped the jacket.

“Yeah, he’s dead” I flatly exclaimed and walked past the group. Oh he's so dead.


	21. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I’ve been having a bit of a rough week with my dog, we don’t know what’s wrong with him and doctors are saying it’s cancer when all test have come up negative. We’re not sure what’s happening but I’m getting really concerned for him. No matter what, I will be posting at least three times this week, a bit, the work may be a little sloppy because of the lack of really major editing. So it’s good tiding these weeks! Thanks for the readings, all the kudos, and I hope to hear from you guys on how to improve for the future! This series ain’t done yet! I hope you all enjoy and keep in thoughts. Until next time, have a good day~!

“Uhh…Michelle, I don’t think that’s going to—” I slammed my foot against the door, growling in annoyance, “Yup, it’s locked.”

After recovering from the fight with Riku, it was time to move on. The door that Riku had escaped from however was replaced. The heartless emblem seemed to glow darkly, preventing us from entering into the hallway. I quirked my lips, knowing we had to assemble the four missing pieces to the doors in order to advance.

“Whelp, what should we do about this?” Goofy asked, rubbing his head. “We’ll have to look for these pieces to open this door.” Sora answered.

I looked over my shoulder where the Beast was going towards another door. I came to understand that Beast was a man of little words, more of aggravated grunts and sighs of annoyance.

“So I guess we should start there” Donald stated and followed after Beast. I walked off after them with Goofy by my side. “So if we found them pieces, the door will open?” Goofy asked, looking towards me. I nodded and held the door open. “Most likely,” Well hopefully. We walked into the large library and I stared in awe.

I suddenly felt like a kid in a candy store. There were so many books, it was amazing. This was the biggest library I ever seen. My jaw dropped slightly while Sora came beside me, turning to the others with Beast staring upwards, exclaiming, “Let’s split up, we’ll have a better chance of finding the pieces”

I walked forward as the others began to search off on their own.

My fingers brushed against the books while I walked past them. There were so many and some of them really looked old. I decided to pick one up that looked sort of out of place and opened it up. As I flipped through the pages, I began to notice the writing looked smeared, like somebody had written in this. I started to think, to wonder; people use to come and read in this library. I wonder….what happened to them?

“I wonder if they made books of all the notes they took for the experiments here…” I muttered, pacing back and forth.

The notes that were written in this book were…unreadable to say the least. It was impossible to try and decipher what was scribbled into the pages. The doodles that sprung on corners, deciphering of hearts, darkness, what looked like to be….a popsicle. Okay….

I flipped through the pages, searching for something. I guess in the back of my mind I was wondering if I could find about what Hoshi was. If I could find something that could help me explain the questions I’ve had about. Maybe to explain what this strange occurrence was, to explain what was happening in my life?

When I finished with it, I placed it back to another empty slot within the shelves. I hummed thoughtfully, turning on my heel as the sound of something moving rang. The sound grew louder but I didn’t pay much mind to it, it was probably one of the book shelves being moved to its proper place—

“TAKE THIS CREEP!” A hard cover knocked on the back of my head, my head throbbing from the impact. “OW!!!!!!!” I cried, gripping my pounding head. “OWIE! OWIE!”

“TAKE THAT YOU HEARTLESS MENACE—wait—” I spun on the ground, my hand tightening to a fist, ready to knock the lights out of whoever did that to me. I didn’t expect it to be someone I knew.

“Michelle?”

I stared in disbelief, the young woman in front of me dropping the book to the ground. I snapped my attention up to her face, catching notice of her tanned skin, her glasses drooping slightly over her face, being saved by her dark braid. She wore a simple grey shirt and her favorite ripped jeans, wearing that same grey jacket—oh my god.

“Frances?” I acknowledged shakily.

Time stopped for me at that moment. My heart stopped, my mind stopped, everything. I could only stare at her in disbelief as I could tell she seemed flustered by how long I was staring, laughing nervously and fixed her glasses on her face. It was her….this was the only shear reaction I could’ve gave at that moment.

“FRANCES!” I screamed. I leapt up, giving her the strongest, bone crushing hug I could ever give to someone. I could hear her grunt, weakly patting my back as I decided to lift her off the ground and spin her around wildly.

“YOU’RE ALIVEEEE!” I cried loudly. I couldn’t tell if Frances was breathing at this point, hearing her weak cries of, “Ca-Can’t br-breathe!”

I released her from the hug, feeling ecstatic over the fact she was here. In the flesh, alive and well. Hoshi was right for once, she wasn’t trying to torture me this time. No riddles, no craziness to try and figure out. One of my friends was actually in Hollow Bastion after all. I sniffed gently, attempting to keep the tears from flowing down my face. I inhaled deeply, patting my cheeks and leaned.

“Ho-How?!”

Frances hummed, tapping her chin and shrugged gently. She turned, pointing to the recently moved bookshelf, revealing her bag, some random clothes she had with her, instant ramen cups scattered on the table. I felt my brow twitch, the idea of eating instant ramen again hitting my gut like a brick. That’s not something I don’t miss trying to run away from eating.

“I was at home, ready to go stay at my sister’s house when all of this happened. The next thing I knew I had woken up here in the Entrance Hall,” Frances explained, “I thought this was all a dream at first; thinking I hit my head on poll in my basement but then those heartless tried attacking me. I rushed into the library, blocking the doors behind me and moved the book shelves. I’ve literally been sneaking around for the past two months avoiding them.”

I reached to hug her again, smiling that she was able to make it this long. Even IF it involved eating that instant ramen. Ugh…wait….two months….ramen…she would not be alive right now.

“I’m surprised you manage to live. Did you even eat anything other than ramen?!” There goes my worry-ness over my friends again. She rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. Aaahhh, good times, good times. “Yes, there’s a kitchen here that I manage to sneak into”

…. A kitchen? Never mind, I rather not know.

“So Michelle, how did you get here?” She demanded, her brow arched and her lips quirking in a demanding I rubbed my neck nervously. Uhh, how can I explain this lightly?

“Hey Michelle!” I turned seeing Sora, Donald, and Goofy rushing over, the latter two resting their hands on their knees, panting heavily.

“We heard screaming and—” He stopped to look at Frances then back to me with a confused expression. I grinned brightly while Sora raised a brow.

“Umm…Hi” He began and I gestured towards Frances, swinging an arm around her neck, grinning proudly.

“This is my friend Frances, the one I told you guys about before” I introduced. She smiled and waved nervously, inching over to me.

“Is that Sora, Donald, and Goofy!?” She whispered furiously in my ear. I gave her a nervous smile and her eyes widen in horror. She looked at Sora, Donald, and Goofy before putting a hand to her forehead. She looked like she was about to faint. So Sora asked how Frances had ended up here and she once again had to explain how she ended up here while the trio listened in interest.

“So Michelle, you’re going to help Sora out?”

I looked at Sora then to Frances and nodded at her. She smiled and crossed her arms. “I guess this is for the best, I’ll be here so I won’t get in the way” She turned around and walked towards the desk. “And mainly because it’s safe here and plenty of books” I slapped my head and groaned.

Same old Frances. She smiled innocently and held up the peace sign. She tossed something to Sora which he caught. He looked at his palm to see a small charm. “Good luck Michelle! I’m rooting for you guys!” She exclaimed. I smiled and she high-fived me. “Just be careful” She murmured.

I nodded and turned around to face the guys. “Did you find the pieces?” I asked and Sora nodded quickly. “Yeah, let’s go” The trio turned but I didn’t. I looked back at Frances once more. She was looking at me in annoyance. She walked over to me and began to push me. “Get going dun-dun!” She said in annoyance and I laughed.

I waved her off and she returned it. I rushed out the door where I found Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the Beast waiting for me. “Let’s get going!”

_I told you. You would find another friend, now you have to make your decision._

I bit my lip. Here she goes again. I shook my head and looked down. ‘I’ll tell you when we get back to Traverse Town’ I thought back to her.

She didn’t comment but I could tell she was thinking about it. We walked throughout the entire castle, trying to get to where ever Riku was at. Damn! He had to be far away. We reached the High Tower when I finally heard her response. She sounded almost regretful of her decision.

_Fine. I’ll give you till then._

I remained silent as we was about to enter the Castle Chapel. Great, now I had to choose whether to leave Sora, Donald, and Goofy alone to fight the final battle and return to my original world when it would come back or fight with them and die in the end. Of course, that’s an easy decision to make.

Entering the chapel, I suddenly felt a cold chill that ran down my spine.

“The darkness is strong here, we should be careful” Beast said warningly, his eyes scanning for anything suspicious. And of course something suspicious would come. The sound of heel clacking on the ground caused everyone to stop walking. Yup, strange suspicion has just been confirmed. Maleficent…

“I’m afraid you’re too late. Any moment now, the final Keyhole will be unsealed. This world will be plunged into darkness. It is unstoppable.” She said. I glared at her as we all took out our weapons.

“We’ll stop it! After coming this far, there’s no way we’re gonna let that happen!” Sora declared and everyone nodded. She glared at us and raised her staff.

“You poor, simple fools. You think you can defeat me? Me, the mistress of all evil!” She demanded loudly.

She’s damn right about being the mistress of all evil. She’s freaking crazy! Her staff glowed a dark green and the floor below her cracked.

“You got to be kidding me” I muttered when the ground floor cracked fully and began to levitate. I took a step back and readied myself for whatever she has to throw.

“Meteors of heaven unleash thou fiery!” A sinister portal began to open behind her and my eyes widen.

“METEORS!?” I barely shrieked before jumping out the way of three large, flaming meteors. I covered my eyes and looked towards Maleficent. She has an advantage when she’s on the rock since we can’t really jump up and attack her there. So let’s knock her off her throne. Once the last of her attack was done, I charged forward and jumped high up in the air.

“Let’s see how you like this!” I shouted and smacked the blade into the rock. “Thundara!” The lightning cracked into the stone and she raised her arm to brace herself from most of the lightning. The boulder has then lost its green glow and fell roughly to the ground. She glared at me and raised her staff.

“Be gone you little insolent!” She shouted and strike me across the face. I fell off and wiped my hand against my cheeks. Damn, that actually hurt, stupid little spikes! I got back up and looked seeing Sora, Beast, and Goofy taking the chance to attack her.

But hey, where’s Donald? I suddenly heard Maleficent laugh loudly and then Goofy knocking into me. “Sorry!” I heard Goofy mutter when then Sora hit the wall next to us.

“THUNDAGA!” Lightning crashed down upon Maleficent and I looked seeing Donald getting ready. “This is a battle of magic, that’s for sure” I growled and rushed towards her. The smoke cleared and she seemed to recovered from the lightning attack and raised her staff. “Come out!” A green ball of fire came from her staff and two heartless had suddenly appeared on the ground.

I slashed at the Darkball, knocking it out my way before spinning around and casting Fira. I finished it off with Blizzardra and saw Maleficent hold up her staff. A dark cloud began to swirl above head and bolts of lightning hit the ground as the others tried attacking her.

Beast manage to endure it and was about to go berserk but she suddenly disappeared. Huh!? Wait, what!? I could just hear her cackling and I tried to find where the heck the voice was coming from.

That’s when I saw a little green ball of light. That must be her! Her boulder spun rapidly as it made its way across the room. “Oh no you don’t!” I yelled and lifted my keyblade up. When Maleficent had reappeared on the boulder, I lowered my keyblade to the ground.

“Force!” Gravity certainly wasn’t on her side today. The boulder crashed to the floor allowing Sora, Beast, Goofy and I to go into a relentless attack. “Thundara! Thundara!” I heard Donald shout from the background and the lightning hit her as well. She then swung her staff causing us to get knocked from the boulder. It lifted once more into the air and her staff began to glow brilliantly.

“Meteors of heaven—”

“Oh shit, run for it!” I cried. The dark portal began to appear behind her and she looked up menacingly. “—Unleash thou fiery!” She shouted. What is up with her and launching huge, fiery meteors in order to kill us? I mean who does that! Oh wait, I forgot, Sephiroth does!

My hand clenched the handle tightly and I could feel my blood was pumping. Oh she’s going to get it! She’s beginning to annoy me just as much as Sephiroth! “Donald!” I shouted, looking beside me to see Donald was curing an unconscious Goofy. Must’ve gotten hit.

“When Maleficent is done with the spell, distract her with your best magic!” I told him and he nodded quickly.

All we had to do was wait for the right moment. When the last meteor disappeared, I looked past the wall seeing Sora and Beast jumping up to attack Maleficent but she had turned into the green light again. The boulder spun around, knocking the two to the ground and followed in pursuit of Maleficent. I launched myself forward and Donald held his wand up.

“Thundara! Blizzardra!” The ball of light maneuvered past Donald’s attack and hovered over the boulder. “Okay, time to pay off the training Merlin and Leon gave me!” I leaped up and when Maleficent appeared I pointed my keyblade towards with both hands.

“Gun Fire!” I yelled. The keyblade launched a flame that resembled a bullet and crashed in front of where Maleficent was standing, sending the boulder to the ground. I grinned in success but then suddenly felt constricted. My eyes widen when I saw her staff glowing brightly and she was glaring at me.

“Enough of this!” She waved her staff and tossed me into the wall. I groaned but then was suddenly flung towards the ground.

I could hear Maleficent laughing when she suddenly tossed me to another wall. I gripped the wall and I could tell my forehead was bleeding…or it was my hands when I wiped it. I grimaced and bit my lip when she grabbed control of my body again and flung me into the ground in front of her.

I groaned and spat out some blood and gave Maleficent a malicious look. She’s going to die. I felt my body begin to rise once more into the air but I wasn’t going to let her keep throwing me around like a rag-doll. I clenched my teeth tightly and twirled my body around to face her. “ENOUGH!” I yelled and flung the keyblade at her. But this was different. This wasn’t my normal Strike Raid.

It had suddenly caught fire, spinning around lethally and flames were all over. It crashed into the stone totally eradicating it and came back for Maleficent. It slashed her causing her grip on me to release and I fell to the ground. I groaned, feeling very faint at the moment. I think I’m going to be sick.

“Cura!” I heard two different voices shout and I saw the emerald light surround me and at the moment, I felt a little better. I stood up and looked at Maleficent, holding a hand to her chest and using her staff as support.

“It’s over Maleficent!” Sora declared, coming over to my side along with the others. A purple portal appeared behind her and she walked backwards into it, shaking her head.

“It shall never be” She declared, panting heavily as she disappeared from us. I sighed in relief and put a hand on my head. Finally, she’s gone. But she still wasn’t out.

“I can’t believe it! She was tough and imagine! She’s still standing!” I said looking to the portal. It swirled around ominously. Next battle is with the crazy dragon! Great!

“Let’s go after her!” Sora said. I nodded “I’m with you on that.” I began but suddenly my head throbbed in pain causing me to grab my head with my left hand. “Just give me a minute to rest.” I said, falling to the ground panting.

Donald agreed with me and fell also. Sora blinked and looked towards Goofy and Beast. “What about you guys? Tired?” Sora asked curiously. The two shook their heads and Sora looked to us.

“How about Goofy, Beast, and I go while you and Donald try to find the princesses!” Sora suggested. I turned my head to Donald who shrugged.

“You sure?” I asked. He nodded and smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll be alright” I shook my head and went to my pocket. My fingers fumbled around till I found the right keychain, tossing it for him to catch. “Use this then” I advised. “It’ll do you good in the fight to come.” He smiled, nodding and went to the portal followed by Beast and Goofy.

I shook my head as they went in. Why did I have to feel like this? I could’ve easily went with them. Oh but the rooms beginning to spin on me! Oww.

“I have a bad feeling something’s going to happen” I said out loud causing Donald to look over at me and tilt his head in question. “It’s just a hunch” I added quickly. I picked myself up from the ground and wiped the dirt off my jeans while examining the chapel we were in.

“So……..where do you think they’re holding the princesses?” I asked. Donald looked around searching too. “Maybe it’s hidden behind a wall” Donald suggested. I sighed as I went to a wall and started looking. It’s not going to be as easy to find a way in like they do in Scooby Doo. There’s not a bookcase anywhere near here with a secret button in a book!

I glanced back at Donald who was looking around at the walls really hard. His head was pressed against the wall and he was pounding the wall to see if he could hear anything. I rolled my eyes. Suddenly my keyblade flashed to my hands causing me to gasp.

“Huh!? What the heck…” I murmured and examined it. Why did it come to me suddenly? That’s when my eyes widen and I smiled brightly.

“Hey maybe a summoning can help!” I suggested and Donald stopped what he was doing to look. “Alright! Pick one. Genie!” Donald suggested, using Genie’s name with emphasis.

I nodded as I concentrated on picking a summoning. Come on Genie! Work your magic! Then I twirled the keyblade, its tip glowing light red, around causing a dark smoke to appear around me. Huh? I stopped and the smoke cleared out, revealing nothing had appeared. I mean, Genie definitely would’ve had a loud entrance at this point.

“Did it work?” Donald asked me, looking around to see if Genie was anyway in sight. I looked down at my keyblade and raised a brow. It was my first time summoning…did I even do it right?

“FINALLY! I’m out! Woo it feels good to stretch again!” I raised my eyes up to see SOMETHING was on my head. But I couldn’t make it out! “Who the heck are you!?!” Donald demanded pointing to my head. “Now don’t get your feathers in a ruffle fella” The voice exclaimed.

It jumped off my head and landed on the ground and my eyes widen. “I am Mushu! Legendary dragon of China!” He introduced proudly and my heart sank. I summoned the wrong summon!

“Great….” I moaned. Face meet my friend hand.

“So what you summoned me for? Hm, Hm? Time for some kick butt?!” He asked, excitedly. I shook my head. “No. We needed help finding a way to find some princesses” I explained and Mushu eyes lit up.

“Ah! Saving the damsels in distress! Alright! I’ll help as much as I can!” Mushu said. I shook my head as the three of us went around looking.

After 25 minutes we gave up. “There’s nothing but walls, walls, and more walls here!” Donald said walking around, his arms crossed. “Yeah, yeah. You’re just not looking hard enough” Mushu exclaimed coolly. My eye twitched and I looked over at Mushu.

He didn’t do anything for the past 20 minutes! He was just watching most of the time, giving the excuse ‘Just in case any baddies come around’ I groaned and rubbed my temples. He then leaned on a wall and it disappeared the minute he touched it. “Whoa, Whoa!” He fell on his back and looked up.

I blinked a few times and smiled brightly. “Mushu! You did it!” I said happily. Though it was by mistake, he still did it! “I did?! I mean I did! You see!” Mushu said standing proudly. “Alright!” Donald cheered and ran to look at the new pathway. “Just get me some other time if you need help” Mushu offered before he disappeared and went back to the keyblade.

I smiled and let my keyblade disappear. That’s when Sora, Goofy, and Beast came back.

“You guys are okay!” I greeted though Goofy nearly fell and Donald went immediately to treating them. Handing over a potion to Sora, he gladly took it. “Yeah! And I’m guessing you found the way” Sora said. I nodded happily as Donald chuckled sort of nervously. “So what happened with Maleficent?” I demanded.

Sora eyed where they had recently came and shrugged unsurely. “Riku…he had a keyblade that unlocked her heart…” Sora told me slowly. “He unlocked darkness that was deep in her heart and she suddenly turned into a dragon. We had to fight her and then in the end we beat her” Sora finished and I hummed. Ha! She got what she deserved!

I smirked gently, nodding in approval before we turned to the new hall we had unlocked. I exhaled gently before facing the others. “Take the time you need now, after this point on, there’s no turning back”


	22. Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter folks! I hope you guys enjoy this! We're getting close to the end finally! Thank you for reading and all the kudos, I appreciate it! Until next time~!

Healing the others was strenuous; Donald and I were already at the brink with our magic. I pretty much lost all my magic once Mushu had disappeared. It was lucky that Sora had one remaining Elixir which Donald and I shared. It definitely rejuvenated the sickening filling of the lack of magic. It was comparable to when you hadn’t eaten in hours, making you want to keep over and hack at the air.

Considering we hadn’t eaten for hours either, this was making the side effects double.

From there we rested for another twenty minutes; catching our breaths and planning our next move. The idea of what was to happen drifted in the back of my mind, haunting the very fiber of my being. It was honestly terrifying to imagine what was going to happen next when you _knew_ what was going to happen.

 My fingers drummed along my leg, looking towards the opened path. My eyes narrowed, already having an idea of what was going to lie ahead. However, my attention averted to the side seeing that Sora and Beast were getting up from the ground, their eyes locked towards the path. I darted my attention over to Goofy and Donald, seeing they were catching my gaze and it was silently agreed that it was time to go.

With weapons at hand, we formed a circle of defense, taking out the occasional heartless that stood in our way. We had briefly walked through the Lift Shop before continuing to the next room. Walking through the darkness, it was clear to see we had reached the next and final area, two large doors shut closed.

I darted my attention over to Sora then to Beast before we separated. The four of us had grabbed one door while Beast solely grabbed the other and we pulled. The doors budged and finally opened to the point where we no longer had to pull them. Beast was the first to enter the room with Sora and I joining close behind him and Donald and Goofy providing support behind us.  

The room was dimly lit, the candles licking through the small amount of space provided before light seemed to generate from above. My eyes darted around when something caught my attention.

I gasped, “Jasmine, Alice!”

The four turned and it seemed Donald and Goofy shared the gasp, suddenly examining the room. It seemed all the princesses were here peacefully in slumber, there lower waist wrapped around what looked some sort of stone.

Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora, and Beast stood wearily in front of the one that held Belle. I grimaced, holding a hand over to my mouth. I wondered how they were captured and forced into this mess. I’m still wondering how Ariel isn’t considered a princess but for now, I’m kinda glad she isn’t or we would face the fury of her father. I did not want that kind of responsibility on my shoulders.

Sora looked towards the stairs, his eyes narrowing, “Come on guys!” Sora insisted.

Sora began to lead upwards, heading towards the staircase as I hesitated, looking to Beast briefly. He seemed more focused on how Belle was. I’m not sure I know how to comfort him especially at a time like this!

I sighed, shaking my head, joining after Donald into the run up the stairs. I panted slightly, gaining speed with Goofy as Donald led ahead. I could feel my heart pound unusually and I exhaled heavily, trying not to let the strange feeling halt me. As we reached to the top of the stairs, Sora stood in the center of the upper floor and Donald joined him.

Yet when Goofy and I reached the top—

“Ouf!”

We stumbled back, Goofy rolling down a few flight of stairs while I had hit my back against the steps behind me. I groaned, rubbing my face roughly as Donald turned and gawked. “Ow!” I cringed, glancing over to Goofy only to notice little yellows birds floating around his head. My eyes widen and I suddenly crawled to the top, placing my hands forward.

An invisible shield blocked us from entering. CRAP.

“Oh come on!” I shouted, slamming my elbow against the shield. Donald was looking down at us in disbelief, hitting his wand into the shield as I tried desperately to break it. That was never going to happen though.

 “Kairi!” Sora shouted. My attention averted from the shield to the floor, catching a glimpse of the redhead peacefully sleeping. I stood up, pressing my face to the shield as Sora rushed forward, skidding to a kneeling position and held her upper body up. She remained blissfully asleep even as Sora started shaking her a bit.

“Kairi! Kairi! Open your eyes!” Sora pleaded.

“It’s no use,”

Our attention averted upwards, catching sight of Riku sitting on top of the strangely glowing machine that acted as the gateway to the heart of this world. Sora gently lowered Kairi, stumbling onto his feet with eyes widen. “Riku?”

 “That girl has lost her heart. She cannot wake up.” Riku’s voice had twisted, merging with one that was dark and sinister. Billy Zane, curse you for your perfect villain voice. I tightened my fist in anger. Ansem!  My eyes narrowed greatly and noticed the keyblade he was holding. It was a black blade, the tip twisted and curved to form an uncompleted heart with the red handle. The Keyblade of People’s Hearts, what a freaking nightmarish keyblade.

 “What? You—you’re not Riku.” Sora exclaimed. “Huh?” Donald looked at Sora then to Riku in confusion. Riku smirked.

“The keyhole cannot be completed so long as the last princess of heart still sleeps.” Riku acknowledged. He left off the machine, landing gracefully on the ground below. Sora blinked wildly, darting his attention back over to Kairi then to Riku.

“A princess...?” Sora looked down to the floor where Kairi laid before his eyes widen in shock, returning once more to Riku.  “Kairi’s a princess?” Sora questioned loudly

“Yes, and without her power, the Keyhole will remain incomplete. It is time she awakened.” He declared that caused Sora to glare at him. His fist tightened. “Whoever you are, let Riku go. Give him back his heart!” Sora demanded but Riku scoffed.

“But first, you must give the princess back her heart.” Riku said.

Sora stood there, obviously confused but then he fell to his knees in agony, clutching his heart. My heart jumped a beat and I suddenly slammed my fists against the shield, alerting Goofy to the scenario.

 “SORA!” Donald and I shouted. Donald immediately went over to Sora for support, holding his arm up while Sora’s eyes were shut closed in agony. I pounded my fist against the barrier but it just reflected me off like I was nothing. I sneered when Goofy joined me. “Give me that Goofy!” Now whacking the shield mindlessly with his shield, I knew this was pointless.

 “What’s...?” Sora muttered, looking up to Riku. Riku laughed, a dark smirk twisting upon his features.

“Don’t you see yet? The princess’s heart is responding. It has been there all along. Kairi’s heart rests within you!” Riku pointed directly to Sora. Sora’s eyes widen as he looked to himself, holding his closed hand over his chest.

“Kairi…….Kairi’s inside me?” Sora asked, looking back up to Riku.

Did the series explain how that actually happened!? Is it just me or are hearts simply attracted to Sora?

“How the heck does that happened?” I asked Goofy who shrugged in response. I sighed aggressively, handing him the shield and proceeded on whipping my keyblade out, slamming the head of the blade against the shield.

“I know all that there is to know.” Riku said.

“Tell me. Who are you?” Sora demanded. He groaned again and clutched his shirt tightly in his fist. Riku smirked once again, “It is I, Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness.”

GAAAAAAAAHHHH! He’s the reason for everything bad! I want to punch him in the face!

 Riku started heading towards Sora but Donald charged at him with his wand in hand. When Donald jumped at Riku/Ansem, the male merely flicked his wrist, sending the duck flying out of the area sending him through the barrier and crashed into Goofy.

“DONALD!” I shouted. I stumbled down the steps, noticing both now possessed stars over their heads, Donald mumbling angrily about something with his dazed expression.

I darted my attention between both before hurrying up the stairs, slamming my fists into the shield, gritting my teeth.

“Stay away from Sora you freak!” I snapped when Riku/Ansem began walking towards Sora. Ahhh, I need to figure out what can break an invisible barrier. Riku finally came an arm’s length away from Sora, smirking darkly.

“So, I shall release you now, Princess. Complete the Keyhole with your power. Open the door, lead me into everlasting darkness!” He raised the keyblade up into the air and was about to strike it down on Sora. I slammed my fists against the barrier with no luck and my eyes widen when his blade was about to hit Sora.

“SORA!” I yelled. “Please don’t give up!”

That’s when I heard the clash of metals. I opened my eyes and looked up to see Sora holding up the keyblade I had leant him, the blade glimmering against Riku’s dark blade. Riku gritted his teeth and jumped back when Sora swung out and glared at Riku.

“Forget it! There’s no way you’re taking Kairi’s heart!” Sora proclaimed and readied himself for battle.

I stared in amazement, unable to actually comprehend what I was seeing. In a weird way, it was freaking awesome seeing him get back up but…the fact that he was using the keyblade. That he had faith in my word with the blade. I grinned wildly, hearing Donald and Goofy finally join behind me, hitting against the shield.

“KICK HIS BUTT SORA!” Donald yelled. ”YEAH!” Goofy and I agreed.  Though from this point on, we could only watch, shouting and warning Sora to dodge from Riku/Ansem’s insane movements.

I watched from the side lines as Sora and Riku/Ansem fought each other. I gazed in horror, I seriously had problems fighting this match. I closed my eyes multiple times when Sora got hit against the wall.

Damn, I can’t stand this feeling of being useless! I hated this fight, beside the final fight; this was the worse one in the storyline. Dang it! Sora you better win! Goofy finally managed to get Donald over to where we were and we watched the fight. I looked at Riku/Ansem began to use the powers of darkness more.

He was going at lightning fast speed but somehow Sora was able to dodge all of this! How!? I’ll never know. We all cheered for Sora to beat them when Sora managed to land a final blow on Ansem. YES, GO AND DIE!  After all of this fighting, somehow Sora managed to land the final strike on Riku/Ansem.

Riku/Ansem stood there as dark electric currents flowed around his entire body. Sora remained in a defensive stance with a baited pant. Riku/Ansem simply dropped the keyblade and fell to his knees. Sora immediately became alert, releasing grip of his keyblade as he rushed forward.

 “Riku!” Sora was unable to reach him as Riku’s body vanished before he could reach him. The barrier released almost immediately and Donald, Goofy, and I fell to the ground since we were up against it. I quickly recovered and rushed to Sora’s side.

“Hey! Are you okay!?” I demanded, kneeling next to him.

Sora’s breaths were basically a feverish pant, his cheeks burning up. I could tell he probably over-exhausted his magic. I held out my hand and focused. “Cura” The emerald light appeared around Sora and his pants decreased slightly. He groaned, rubbing his forehead as I rubbed his back, hoping he would pull through this.

“Sora! Sora, look!”  

“The…..The Keyhole!” Both Donald and Goofy were pointing towards the gate that would show the keyhole to the world. Sora got to his feet and walked towards the others with me following closely behind. He pointed his keyblade towards it. Yet nothing happened. I raised a brow when Goofy and Donald seemed disturbed that it didn’t work.  

“It won’t work!” Goofy said. “The Keyhole’s not finished yet!” I exclaimed dully. The others turned to me as Sora lowered his keyblade, allowing it to vanish into sparks.

He asked, “What can we do?”

Then I looked back to Kairi who was ironically still there. I’m surprised she didn’t get injured during the fight.  Must be the power of having a pure heart.  Oh the beautiful magic of video games. I frowned, rubbing my neck as I looked to Sora and then to Kairi.

“It was said that to open the gateway to the heart of this world, we would need all seven princesses of light to open it,” I turned to Sora with a frown, “We only have six so far.”

“Maybe we’ve gotta go wake Kairi up.” Goofy suggested. Sora narrowed his eyes to her as he nodded slowly. “I think you’re right.” Sora admitted and crossed his arms.

“If we can free her heart—but—but how?” Sora rubbed his temple, sighing.

I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling my throat tighten. My gaze had wandered off towards the dark keyblade on the ground. The darkness that radiated from its very core, hiding whatever precious light it contained. I could already feel my thoughts wander, knowing what was going to happen. My eyes narrowed to the blade and I faced it completely. Was it possible to change what the fates had already decided?

“A Keyblade that unlocks people’s hearts,” Sora murmured beside me and I turned, raising a brow. “I wonder…”

“Sora…?” I questioned, watching the brunette Sora pass by me.

My heart thudded as I could see he was heading towards the keyblade. I took a step forward to run and stop him when my heart violently clenched. My hands dug into my shirt, clenching my teeth roughly and fell onto my knees in agony.

“Michelle!” Donald had rushed over, resting a hand on my back as I groaned, shutting my eyes tightly. I wheezed uneasily, looking up to see Sora had the dark keyblade in his hands, examining the body of it.

 “Sora don’t!” I shouted warningly.  

“Sora, hold on!” Goofy pleaded. “No, wait!” Donald said as well.

“There’s gotta be another way!” I yelled again to see if he would even look at us. He turned to us, holding the keyblade and smiled. My eyes widen as everything slowed, watching as he turned the keyblade on himself and lunged it into his chest.

Tears spilled over as Donald and Goofy shouted, Donald leaving my side. My eyes widen and I heard Donald and Goofy scream Sora’s name. A light shined from his chest and the keyblade illuminated as well. Six orbs of light expelled from the keyblade and flew into the air. They darted in the directions of the princess as one more orb expelled from Sora’s heart. It fluttered towards Kairi’s direction, merging into her chest.

“SORA!” I was on the verge of brawling as I saw Sora starting to fall backwards.

“SORA” Donald shouted, and I pulled the strength to get on my feet. I sprinted after Donald, just barely noticing Kairi was waking up behind us.

 “Sora!” Kairi yelled.

Kairi had sprinted past both of us, remarkably able to reach to catch Sora falling. Yet when she wrapped her arms around him, his body dispelled into lights. I stopped and gasped as small golden lights rose to the air. What—what just happened?! I knew this was going to happen but…oh man, I feel like I’m going to hurl. I felt tears streaming down my cheeks as I forced my eyes closed. Sora’s dead, no, he can’t be dead. He’s not dead. Not for long—but still—oh god.

“SORA!” Goofy and I yelled loudly. “Sora! Come back, Sora!” Donald pleaded looking up towards the ceiling where golden sparks disappeared from us.

I had no reaction. Nothing came out of my mouth as I stared towards the ceiling. The tears slowed down and I couldn’t help but shake my head. H-He’s coming back. He’s supposed to! But why can’t I stop crying!? I couldn’t believe it. I won’t believe it. I knew he would come back, but it hurt so much seeing a friend…die.

I rubbed my eyes furiously while the others were still calling for Sora to come back. Get a grip on yourself!

“Sora, are you really….” Kairi whispered, her eyes widen and beginning to water. She shook her head furiously.

“No. He can’t be! I won’t let him go!” Kairi cried out.

I tried getting a grip on myself, but I started sensing something. I lifted my head slowly as the tears dried against my cheeks. My lips drew to a flat line as I turned to face where the dark feeling was coming from. Kairi also looked to the direction I was facing that caused Goofy and Donald to glance over.

Something very dark was coming.

 “So, you have awakened at last, princess.” Darkness began to form and coming from it, Ansem appeared in front of us. I gulped silently and froze. The darkness that was coming from him, it was so nerve-racking. It was almost like it was trying to suffocate you. He smiled darkly and looked to Kairi.

“The Keyhole is now complete. You have served your purpose.” He exclaimed, extending his arm out towards the gateway. It glowed brightly but it still seemed to carry that darkness feeling that Ansem carried too. I turned my attention back to Ansem when I heard the words come from his mouth almost too darkly. “But now it’s over.”

Ansem took a step forward and I swung my both my arms out. The keyblade materialized within my left hand and I held it threateningly at Ansem. My right arm was blocking Kairi from any advancement from this guy. I growled viciously, my eyes narrowing. I am NOT in the mood for this. I haven’t felt this mad in a long while, and with what just happened with Sora and he thinks he could take Kairi out now, oh I don’t think so. I will not allow this to happen.

Ansem seemed to chuckle at my amusing tactic, shaking his head and took another step forward. However this time Donald and Goofy joined my side, both with their weapons at hand.

“Don’t make another move!” Donald shouted. They both moved to my sides and we stood in front of Kairi defensively.

“One more step and it’s over!” I threatened my voice dripping with venom. Ansem did not look amused.  

“Do you think we can stop him all by ourselves?” Goofy whispered.

“I don’t know!” Donald whispered back.  

“But one things for sure. He’s not going to hurt Kairi under our watch!” I told them and they nodded in agreement. Ansem huffed, taking a few steps towards our direction as he raised his hand forward. Darkness seemed to spark between his fingertips and I swallowed roughly, unsure if we would be able to survive a fight against him right now. Then he stopped walking towards us.

“Impossible…..” Ansem sneered lowly as a faint golden light appeared in front of him. He tried taking a step forward but something wasn’t allowing him to do so. He was being held back by—by Riku!? Arms extended out, Riku appeared and glared at Ansem.

“No. You won’t use me for this!” Riku sneered.

“Riku!” Kairi gasped.

Whoa, I didn’t think it was possible for Riku to come back since all that happened, and I never understood why Riku never had a Nobody. Riku turned his attention to us, his teeth gritting painfully.

“You got to run! The Heartless are coming!” Riku explained, using whatever strength he had left to hold Ansem back. Suddenly shadow Heartless started surrounding us and I looked around in a panic. We’re going to be surrounded!

“Fira!” Donald casted the flame spell and a quick path was opened.  I slashed at a heartless that nearly jumped towards our direction, my attention focusing on Riku. Kairi seemed intent on getting Riku out of here but I grabbed her arm, shaking her head.

“Go!” Riku ordered us and I nodded. “Go!” I pushed Kairi towards Goofy, allowing the knight to help her get a running start down the stairs as I swung at another heartless jumping at me. I grimaced, looking towards Riku.

_‘Thank you Riku’_ I mouthed. He finally looked at me and nodded. I smiled softly before I spun around and knocked another heartless out of my path, leaping down a set of stairs and hurried after Donald, Goofy, and Kairi.

Donald, Goofy, and Kairi immediately rushed down the hall of the princesses before the heartless could come after us. I rushed through the hall, having noticed Beast had disappeared and my eyes widen. Wait! Where is he?

“But what about the keyhole!?” Goofy demanded. “Let’s just get out of here!” Donald shouted back at him. “We’ll come back for it later!” I insisted and threw open the doors. Donald and Goofy rushed past me but Kairi stopped. I grunted heavily with Goofy on the other side as we forced the doors closed behind us, noticing the menacing darkness that began to spill over.

She looked back towards where Riku and Sora once were. I frowned. What should I do? I hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder and looked down at her. Wow, I’m freaking four inches taller than her!

“Kairi, let’s go” I said quietly. She looked at me once then turned and ran after Donald and Goofy. I shook my head, closing the doors shut and ran. But that horrible feeling, that darkness, it probably would haunt me for the rest of my life.

I can’t express how I’m feeling right now. The probably best thing I was feeling was absolute frustration and hatred at everything that stood in my path. Yeah, that’s a good way to explain it.

My hand was beginning to feel twisted. It was inflaming from all the pain of gripping the handle too much, scraping against the ground to dodge attacks and to recover off of. I tossed my gloves off in retaliation, noticing they were basically pieces of scrape leather.

Now with Kairi to worry about, this wasn’t making it any easier. I panted heavily by the time we reached the platform heading down to the Entrance Hall. I looked to the other three to see how they were handling it. Donald and Goofy were panting just as hard, maybe even worse than I am.

Kairi had a hand to her rising chest as she took deep breaths. Must’ve been rough to wake up all the sudden, find your best friend dead, your other best friend gone possessed by some crazy dude, then having to follow some total strangers. I took a deep breath through my nose and stood up straight. Whatever happens, I gotta make sure we come out of this alive. Both Sora and Riku would probably want this.

My eyes narrowed to the ground and I sighed. Keep repeating it to yourself, Sora’s going to come back, don’t worry.

‘He’s not here now. You’re calling the shots now’ I rubbed my head and shook it slowly. The platform shook, alerting us that it stopped and we could move out.

“All right! We’re almost out of here!” Donald exclaimed trying to sound relieved but he couldn’t pull the energy to. Donald and Goofy took a head start to make sure no heartless would be there and we could get Kairi out more safely.

I took a defensive position, my eyes scanning everything to make sure nothing would appear. My left hand gripped the handle but I relaxed it, rushing down the steps. Once it was determined no heartless were going to pop up, I turned.

“Looks like the coast is clear for now” I alerted. I breathed through my nose and sighed. I looked to Kairi who was awkwardly looking back towards where we were escaping from. I bit my lip and looked down. She was taking this harder than I imagined she would. Well, it goes to show how undeveloped her scenes were.

“Kairi, let’s go” I motioned for her to go ahead and she glanced at me. She opened her mouth slightly but immediately shut it and began rushing past me. I frowned faintly. She’s really upset. Damn, I’m not good with the whole ‘reassurance’ thing and ‘first impressions’ deal. Whatever.

I took a few steps forward when suddenly something inside of me felt like it was stabbed. My eyes widen and I fell to my knees, a hand flying to my mouth as I began coughing roughly. When my coughing fit ended, I felt something dripping down my lips. Why did it taste like iron? Shit. I looked to my gloved hand and saw it. Blood was dripping down my lone leathered glove, inked with something black causing my eyes to widen even further.

I really am dying.

I’m going to be torn apart from the inside. I gulped, tasting the bitter iron go back to wherever it came from and wiped my mouth. This is not good. I looked back to the stair cases, got up, and jogged over there. I took the last glove off, tossing them over the edge. There goes another precious item of mine. Great. I glanced to the gloves once more and then dashed down the stairs to catch up with the others. I reached back to the others seeing that they were still rushing towards the Entrance Hall.

“Michelle?” Goofy looked over to me when I caught up to them. “What happened?” I shook my head and sighed. “Nothing, had to catch my breath” I lied. Goofy seemed as if he wanted to ask more but we finally reached our destination.

“Finally! We’re almost out of here!” I exclaimed dryly. Donald and Goofy rushed down the stairs but when I was about to go after them, I remembered something.

 Library.

“FRANCES!” I whirled around and sprinted towards the door of the library. I grabbed the handle but before I could even turn it, it was swung open. Hitting my face.

“OW!” I gripped my nose, stumbling back as I could feel blood begin to seep out of my nose. Frances looked at me apologetically but delighted at the same time. “You’re okay!” She gleamed brightly but her happy features soon turned to nervousness when I glared at her.

“Does it look like I’m okay?!” I demanded hoping to God that I don’t have a bloody nose. Frances smirked and put a hand on my shoulder. “Yeah, you’re not dead now are you now?”

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. She always knew how to make me wrong. I shook my head and looked at her seriously. “Come on, we got to get out of here!” I told her and her eyes widen. She jumped and punched the air. “FINALLY! I’M GETTING OUT OF THIS CRAZY PLACE!” She cheered. Ughh, what can I do without her?

Maybe a lot more…Nah...

Frances rushed past me and went down the stairs in a hurry. I followed after her only to stop half way. “Kairi hurry!” Donald called but Kairi didn’t budge.

“I can’t leave them behind!” She replied. Oh NOW she wants to go back to help them!  

“We can’t stay here!” Donald insisted. I looked down at the three before trudging back up the stairs and walked towards Kairi. “Kairi, I know both Riku and Sora want you to get out of here. So please let’s go, you have to trust me on this” I pleaded to her.

She bit her lip as she looked hesitantly at the door then back the stairs. “Please!” I begged, nearly ready to grab her arm and drag her down the freaking stairs. She finally nodded and I smiled. “Let’s go”

We speed walked down the stairs and moved over to Donald and Goofy. “A heartless!” “I’ll take care of him!” Donald said and took out his wand. I walked over to Frances who was tilting her head.

“What happened?” I asked, eyeing Donald as he began repeatedly hitting the heartless with the end of his wand. “That heartless is blocking the way…that’s all” Frances glanced to the heartless then to Donald.

“I still don’t understand why he can’t take it out with his magic” Frances muttered.

Isn’t that the question we all ask?

Kairi glanced at the heartless and she tilted her head slightly, putting a hand to her chest and taking a step forward to be standing next to Frances.

“Confounded Heartless! Get lost will ya!” The heartless didn’t look like it was going to attack. Donald kept repeatedly whacking it on the head trying to get rid of it but it refused to budge.

 “This is one weird heartless” I whispered to Frances who nodded in agreement. Is this Sora? Or is this another heartless? After all the heartless I went bashing at, I don’t know the difference anymore.

 “Sora? Is that you?” Kairi asked. 

“Huh?” Frances and I gasped. We have a winner! Now how the hell did she know that was Sora?

Suddenly the reinforcements came, surrounding the five us. “Uh-oh” Goofy said. Goofy and Donald instantly had their weapons out, charging towards some heartless and started fighting against them. I gasped and my keyblade came to my right hand and I took a defensive step in front of both Kairi and Frances.

“Stay close!” I instructed and charged towards the closest group of heartless. I heard Frances shriek and knew she was nervous about me jumping into battle and expecting her to follow. But as I slashed at the heartless and casted my magic, I noticed she was right there and kicked any that tried jumping from behind.

I grinned faintly. Guess we have each other’s back.

“Kairi!” I suddenly halted when Donald and Goofy yelled the said girl’s name. Frances twirled around and gasped loudly when she saw heartless jumping up into the air about to pounce the girl.

“Kairi!” Yelled Francs and I when the heartless tackled both her and the heartless she was protecting. SHIT!

That’s when something weird happened. I whirled around, my keyblade ready to be thrown at those heartless to get them off. At that very moment, a beam of silver light admitted from the tip of the keyblade. I nearly stumbled back, unable to comprehend the calming feeling that rushed through me. I felt my keyblade tug forward and in a flash, a silver beam appeared from the blade and touched to where the heartless were.

I blinked in surprise. What the hell was that!?

A bright light came from the darkness and destroyed all the heartless that were once there causing Frances to jump up in surprise. And standing there holding Kairi was Sora. My eyes widen.

“Kairi, thank you” He thanked that caused the red head to look up in surprise. “Sora…” Kairi uttered his name softly, probably wondering if what she was seeing was true.

“Sora!”

“Sora!”

 “Sora?” Donald’s, Goofy’s, mine and Frances reaction. I eyed Frances who seemed dumbfounded by Sora’s sudden appearance. See, this is what happens when you don’t play the game fully! You get confused!

“SORA!” The instant Sora let go of Kairi, he was tackled by Donald and Goofy in a hug that caused the teen to loose balance and fall down, taking the other two with him. I stiffed a laugh but smiled nevertheless. He’s alive!!! I’m not in charge anymore! Whoo! Never really was meant to be the leader ya know?

“Don’t you EVER do that again!” Donald said threateningly as he shook the poor brunette while Sora was apologizing about worrying his friends. Kairi was smiling and she glanced over to me and I returned the smile.

Goofy was hugging his two buddies as he laughed that caused them to laugh. But the moment was soon ruined when heartless began coming back. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumped back to their feet’s and summoned their weapons as I summoned my keyblade to hand.

I scanned how many heartless there were and gulped loudly. There were A LOT. Frances shifted around uncomfortably and Kairi positioned herself next to Frances and I. “I don’t think we can fight this many and expect to get out of here all okay!” I blurted out and tightened my grip on the handle.

Great…I’m going to get killed by heartless instead of my insides tearing themselves apart. Peachy.

“ROARRR!”

The heartless heads perked up and some of them disappeared from the sound. We all looked up to see Beast jumping down and swiping three heartless instantly destroying them.

“Go! Now!” He said loudly at us. Sora took a step forward.  “Come with us!” Sora insisted but Beast growled lowly and shook his head.

 “I told you before; I’m not leaving without Belle. Now, go! The Heartless are coming!” Beast yelled forcibly that caused Sora to take a step back. Frances went up to him and poked his shoulder causing him to look at her.

“I say we listen to him, four against who knows how many isn’t really good” She said. Sora frowned but nodded. “All right. Let’s get out of here.” Sora said. More heartless began appearing and Beast began taking them out giving us the chance to get the hell out of there.

“RUN PEOPLE RUN!” I cried loudly as we began leaving the castle grounds. Donald and Sora were casting spells at heartless that were following us while Goofy and I took care of the ones that appeared in front of us unexpectedly. Reaching the platform, I smashed the crystal making it immediately jerk forward to start descending down.

“We need to get out of here!” Frances whispered in a panicky voice as she leaned against the railing, tapping her fingers impatiently on it.  I looked at her and nodded in agreement.

“Once we hit the gummi ship, we fly the hell out of here, go to Traverse Town and think up of a plan then!” I said out loud. Frances blinked for a few seconds when she smiled suggestively. I shook my head and she frowned. Poor girl, she wants to see Cloud.

“I agree with that fully” Sora perked into our conversation.

Ahhh Sora, it’s good to have you back. The platform came to a stop and heartless were already waiting for us. “Thundara!” Sora, Donald, and I yelled casting the multiple bolts of lightning that caused the heartless to be destroyed on site. “Frances, Kairi, let’s move!” I ordered them and the two nodded.

 I was running too fast for my own freaking good but you know what they say, ladies first! We rushed down the rocks while the guys had our backs and I saw the gummi ship. It had landed back on the ground conveniently waiting for us, I slid open the door and dashed to the main seat. I pressed every button in sight as I heard the engine of the machine turned to life and grinned in satisfaction. Oh heck yes! We are so ready to get the hell out of here! 

 “Everyone in?!” I yelled loudly as I heard the thump of Donald jumping in along with Sora and Goofy.

“Yeah!” Sora confirmed and slammed closed the door. I bit my lip as I lifted the handles of the ship and began going up. But almost instantly I noticed the number of heartless ships that were going to be waiting out there.

We would die if we tried going through there. My eyes then fell upon the button. The red button simply stood out from the others and I growled in annoyance. I slammed my fist down on a red button, the only one we hadn’t used yet. The Warp Drive.

“HANG ON!” I yelled.

Suddenly in a heart-stopping moment, it was like we were rocketed at the sky and then space. I heard a bunch of mixed cries along with falling backwards on the seat being pushed back from the sudden force of liftoff. Suddenly ship stopped to a halt and I jolted forward, nearly hitting the steering wheel

My hands were glued to the wheel, my eyes shut too. I slowly opened them to see if we made it safely out of Hollow Bastion. To my relief, we did. We made it all the way back to Traverse Town!

“Is everyone okay?” I asked.

I tried moving my head to look back…yeah…that was impossible. Oh boy, my neck feels funny.

“We’re okay” Goofy said as some groaned in response. I rubbed my neck, forcibly turned myself and my eyes widen in shock. Donald and Goofy were basically sprawled across the floor, groaning. Sora and Kairi were gripping under the table, somehow luckily still intact. But Frances. Wait. Where’s Frances!?!?! I looked around and then noticed she was coming from the bathroom, one hand to her stomach and the other to her head. I grimaced. Guess that means I shouldn’t drive anymore.

“Couldn’t you have waited for a minute?!” Donald yelled at me, shaking slightly to get up. I frowned and crossed my arms stubbornly. “No! Those heartless were right on our butts!” I snapped, glaring.

 “We’re alive! Alive!” Frances cried and she jumped up to hug me. The oxygen in my lungs is fading from her tight grip on me. She began saying other words but I couldn’t make it out as I silently pleaded to the others to help me out. Donald simple snickered while Sora helped Kairi out.

 “AH! GUYS SAVE ME!” Everyone started laughing as she continued hugging me to death.

 “PLEASE?!” Don’t I have great friends? Ehhh…I don’t think I should answer that one. “Okay Frances, I’m going to tickle you to death if you don’t let me go” “Eek!” She released me like I was the plague and held her hands up in defensive.

Sora looked over to all of us and landed the ship to Hollow Bastion. “All right, let’s go meet up with the gang” Sora decided and I nodded in agreement.

Finally, some time to rest. Hopefully.


	23. Biding Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hazzah, another chapter! On a roll! Soon I should be done with this part and moving onto the next part of the series, oh yes, the fun times are not over yet. Bwahaha. But regardless, thank you for reading so far and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

 “Wait, what!?”

I groaned and rubbed my temple tenderly, feeling it pound from Yuffie’s shouting. Yuffie looked at the six of us that remained sitting in chairs in the Small House in the Third District. We had barely made it to the front door behind Sora, Goofy, Donald and I collapsed from sheer exhaustion, stars floating over our heads. I was ready for the game over screen to honestly show my body floating in the air.

“Didn’t you hear anything he just explained Yuffie?” I questioned the kunoichi. She rapidly shook her head. “Not until I heard about the part of him STABBING himself!”

I slapped my head and groaned in irritation. Of course she would blank out on most of the important information yet tune in for something devastating.

When we reached Traverse Town, Yuffie and Aerith were the first to greet us and immediately rush over to help the four of us from the ground, eventually calling for reinforcement of Leon and Cid. You know, I’ll admit, this will probably the one time I will swoon over Leon carrying me since I could barely move. Yeah, yeah, that’s going to my secret box in my mind, never to be opened again.

Now that we’re back though, it was pretty obvious everyone was going to be asking us question about what happened. So after getting treated up for a few hours, relax and replenish our health, we finally began to explain the events that went down in Hallow Bastion. Leon and Aerith were listening intently, writing little notes for Cid since the man went to check out the Gummi Ship. I have a bad feeling he’s going to yell at us when he comes back.  

I crossed my arms when Sora sighed, deciding to repeat everything again for Yuffie specifically. I rubbed my temple while Leon had crossed his arms, humming softly.

“So everything was in ruins over there?” Leon asked, looking towards me. I nodded, quirking my lips. “Pretty much, the castle is pretty much a heartless playground. The only thing that seemed intact was the library,” I answered. Leon nodded, rubbing his temple and sighed softly.

“It sounds worse than I imagined…”

“Pretty much,” My eyes darted to the side, noticing Aerith was chatting with an eager Frances and Kairi. Kairi seemed to be doing really well so far, especially after all that had happened to her. Frances, not as socially engaging as Kairi, still managed to talk a lot.

I smiled gently, being reassured that they were finally safe.

 “Seriously?!” Yuffie blurted again when Sora finished. I gave an agreeable nod and looked down at the floor with a grim expression.

“Yeah and the worst part is that Hallow Bastion still can go into the darkness because the keyhole isn’t sealed” Sora finished. Yuffie grimaced and crossed her arms stubbornly.

 “No wonder there are more and more Heartless everywhere.” Yuffie exclaimed, sighing loudly in frustration. I couldn’t help but agree with her, burying my face in my hands. “The only way to stop them is—” Leon was stopped short as Sora finished, “Seal the Keyhole, right?” Sora crossed his arms behind his neck, looking confident about it.

Sounds so easy, seal a keyhole huh?

“Maybe,” Leon interjected, “But no one knows what will happen once it’s sealed”

Sora frowned and crossed his arms stubbornly to the brunette in front of him.

“Well we can’t just stay here, we have something to do! I’ve got a friend back there,” Sora exclaimed loudly.

Aerith had stopped chatting as Kairi and Frances looked over as well. Kairi frowned gently at the sound. Leon sighed gently, darting his attention from Donald, Goofy, and I then finally to Kairi. I stood up and walked over to Sora, patting his shoulder as I nodded in agreement. Where ever Sora was going, I’ll likely be dragged in. All for one and one for all.

 “That’s right. You have one more friend to worry about.” Leon said.

“Riku’s keyblade must have been born of the captive princesses’ hearts just like that Keyhole you saw. Of course, without Kairi’s heart, it remained incomplete. Once the Keyblade was destroyed, the princesses’ heart should have been freed.” Leon smirked and crossed his arms.

“Don’t worry Sora. If anyone can save your friend, you can,” I grinned brightly.

Oh Leon, you can truly be an interesting, inspirational person sometimes. Donald leapt up from his chair, holding his wand proudly up into the air.  

 “We should head back to Hallow Bastion and seal the keyhole!” Donald declared.

“It’s too soon for that” Leon interrupted. “Huh?” Sora and Donald looked questionably at Leon.

“You’re ship is still in pretty bad shape from what I’ve heard from Cid—” Leon explained. I slowly sat down, already having a bad feeling that Cid was heading this way to kill us for the ships’s damage. “—and that path way to Hallow Bastion is going to be swarmed by heartless ships making it impossible to go through. Better go check it out with him later.”

 “So you guys probably have to stay the night before you can get going.” Yuffie summed up and crossed her arms. I looked over to Sora and nodded in agreement. It would be a good idea to stock up, train while we can, and get sleep. Beautiful, valuable sleep. Food too, that would be nice.  

 “I guess we can stay for a night then we go off back to Hallow Bastion and lock up the keyhole!” Sora decided, throwing open the door and rushing out.

I slapped my forehead and groaned. Where the heck was this kid thinking he was going???

 I then heard Kairi giggle and glanced over to her, raising a brow. “Was he ALWAYS like this?” I asked. She grinned and replied curtly, “Yup”

I dropped my head, so much optimism from these Destiny Island kids. Donald and Goofy ran out the door while I groaned loudly. I slouched from the chair and bolted out the door, looking back in briefly and gave a two finger salute towards Frances.

“HEY! WAIT UP FOR ME!” I yelled.

I bolted after the two only to notice they were running through the Second District. I sighed, shaking my head and retreated in the opposite direction. I was going to take the short cut to the First District. I didn’t have time or energy to cut through the Second District. Simply unlocking the switch, I easily made my way into the First District. First thing I see is Cid yelling his mouth off at the three while Sora and Goofy held Donald back while he shouted something’s back at the pilot. I feel like I shouldn’t repeat those words unless we had that beep machine for Cid.

Jeez, can someone bring me some damn tea much?

After much fussing to get these guys calmed down, Cid breathed through his nose deeply before releasing a heavy sigh, “I can’t do that, kids.”

“Why not!?”

“Even _if_ I manage to fix your ship, the heartless are multiplying by the minute. They’d eat your ship up in a heartbeat!” Cid boomed, shooting up from his chair with a poster that demonstrated what would happen to the gummi ship. It wasn’t a pretty ending; well maybe the big explosion was creative enough to understand what would happen. Total annihilation.  

Sora frowned and crossed his arms.

“So what can we do?” Sora asked. Cid grimaced, stroking a hand through his hand and muttering something about how he really wanted to start smoking again. I quirked brow towards him, already giving him a knowing stare that said don’t do it, it’s not worth it. He sighed before looking back at us.

“Simple. Go around ‘em instead of through them.” He told us wearily.

The room had become awkwardly silent. Sounds simple enough but something seems to be missing. Cid rubbed his temples and sat down on the chair that was near him. Donald scratched his head before opening his arms out.

“Wait, how can we do that?” Donald asked. Cid leaned back in his chair, chewing on his toothpick before flicking it to the trash.

 “When I came here 9 years, I brought a navigation gummi and stored it in the Secret Waterway in case if I ever needed. If I install it into your ship, it should be able to make a new route to Hollow Bastion,”

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and I all shared glances and grinned.

“All right!” I punched the air. Cid sighed

“Never thought a kid would be the one to use it though” Cid muttered, his back turned to us like we couldn’t hear him that way. “Hey what’s that supposed to mean!?” I demanded but Cid waved it off.

“Nothing. Just head on over to the Secret Waterway and bring it back to me. Then I’ll install it to your ship, it’ll take a few hours but I’ll get it installed by tomorrow.”

“Thanks Cid!” I thanked and walked off following the three. “And go through Merlin’s place! You can get it faster that way!” I overheard him shout and Sora replied with a loud thanks.

We headed towards Merlin place and were crossing the stones when I thought I saw something. I paused on the moving rock, taking a look back to see that nothing was here. Was that Hoshi? No, the person looked taller. Eh. Probably was my imagination. I looked back and charged forward.

The others were waiting for me when I came and we entered Merlin’s house. First thing we come to see is Merlin over a cauldron, throwing something into it. “HEY MERLIN!” Sora and Donald greeted loudly that startled the old wizard. And caused whatever he had in the cauldron to explode and create smoke in the room.

I coughed and waved my hands rapidly in front of my face to try not to breathe in any smoke.

“Confounded spell!” I heard Merlin shouted and coughed several times. “Aerora!” The wind blew violently throughout the room, bumping the smoke right out. I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times to see Merlin and Donald’s face covered in black ash. I snickered lightly but stopped instantly when Donald shot me a death glare.

“Why, hello lads and lady” Merlin wiped his face with a spare rag and patted off the ash from his beard. “Are you here for some more training?” Merlin asked but Goofy shook his head.

“Nope, we’re here looking for a gummi that Cid told us to get” Goofy told him. Merlin wiped his glasses, humming thoughtfully when he snapped his fingers. “The one in the Secret Waterway?” Merlin asked and we all nodded.

“Ah yes, that one. I helped Cid store it there when he first came, been keeping it safe ever since” Merlin mumbled and grabbed his wand. With a wave of his wand, a piece of the floor began to step down, creating stairs that led to something below. I leaned forward and at the bottom I could see the eerie glow of flames.

“There you are!” “Thank you Merlin” I thanked and Merlin smiled in return.

Sora was first to begin treading down the stairs with Goofy following him then it was me and Donald behind me. You know, it’s weird. I can’t believe we’ve come this far. I grimaced softly when I thought about how much I wanted to come have an adventure as grand as this. But at what cost? My world disappearing, my friends live in danger and even my own? I don’t know if it really was worth it. I glanced up to look at the others and it changed. I suppose the experience was something beyond life, something that happens once in a lifetime. I got lucky but with some bad luck that tagged along with it. I smiled faintly, looking to the others as I watched their antics.

I couldn’t thank them enough for getting me through this. I didn’t want to abandon them…even with my thoughts lingering back to Hoshi. She kept saying I had a decision to make. I ruffled the back of my head, sighing gently. I guess I know what my decision is going to be when I see Hoshi. _CRASH._ I lifted my head up when I heard Sora gasp loudly as I reached the bottom of the steps.

“Hey what are you two doing here?” Sora asked bewilderly.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up seeing Kairi and Frances. Wait, what are those two girls doing here. Kairi turned around to face us while Frances was staring up at the ceiling, leaning back and forth on her heels.  

“Just looking around.” Frances answered, a smirk shining brightly on her face.

I frowned and crossed my arms. Sora and Kairi were staring at the sun mural at the end of the watery stone walk while Donald and Goofy were talking about where Cid could’ve possibly hidden the gummi.

“So how did you guys get here?” I asked Frances who turned her head to look at me. She smirked and shook her head, holding a finger up, wagging it playfully.

“That’s my little secret” She exclaimed and I groaned in annoyance.

Liar. That was such a big lie. She knew from playing the game obviously.

Frances turned her attention to something else and I saw a bright light coming from where the sun mural was at. Sora stood in front of a now moon mural with a piece of gummi in hand and turned to look at us.

“So that’s the gummi?” Donald asked when Sora came forth and showed it to the rest of us. “I guess so” Sora handed Donald the gummi and the two left to return it to Cid.

“Well that was easy” I murmured. Frances smiled and walked over to the rock wall and leaned against it. “Let’s go back and join the others. We should rest up” Sora said to Kairi. “Okay.”

Frances and I began to head back when she looked over her shoulder to see Sora and Kairi still there. She tilted her head as I joined to look back. I smiled softly, shaking my head and grinned teasingly. Frances now directed her attention at me, raising a brow.

“There not coming yet?” Frances asked.

“Not yet, I think they need to talk” I explained and smiled suggestively.

Frances grinned in response and nodded slowly. We decided to walk slowly and chat, not taking the way up Merlin’s, but instead towards the Second District. It’s been so long since I’ve felt a little bit normal. Having Frances here was a great relief honestly. It was such a good thing that she was safe and not only that, not some figment of my crazy imagination. We laughed, nudged and kidded around as I explained my personal experience to her. I described her all of the insane journeys we’ve had so far.  

“So are you going to stay here with the others?” I decided to ask. Frances nodded.

“Yeah. I should probably, and mainly I want to see Cloud!” She squealed and began jumping up and down. I stared at her with a deadpanned expression, sighing loudly. Of course, good ol’ Frances. Fangirl of Cloud Strife. Yet now that I think about it.

“You never did beat the game now did you? Or else you would know where Cloud was right now.” I teased. She frowned and turned her head.

“I’m not so obsessed with it like you are Michelle. I didn’t play it everyday!” She retorted.  I smiled sadly which she noticed. Her lips quirked to the side, scratching her cheek gently.  “Be careful out there Michelle, you’re going to need it” She advised, changing the subject. I raised a brow she when she held her hand out to me.

“I think that’s yours” She said. I narrowed my eyes and watched as she opened her hand up to reveal what she was talking about. The Kingdom Key-keychain laid in her palm, abit, it was blue instead of Sora’s silver one. My eyes widen in shock and I took it from Frances. MY KEYCHAIN! Since I was so obsessed with Kingdom Hearts, I bought one of those little keychains of Mickey Mouse and I used it for good luck.

“I found it in my pocket and remembered you left it at my house,” She said.

I looked to the blue Mickey Mouse head chain and decided ‘what the heck’ and placed it on the keyblade. The keyblade glowed brightly and it began to change.

“Whoa….” We gasped. It looked EXACTLY like the Kingdom Key but blue! That rocked. “Thanks Frances. You’re a great friend…” I trailed off when a thought came to my head. “Hey, did…you know what happened anyone? You’re family, my family, Jazmine, Cristina; you’re friends that you have at Maloney? Anyone?”

She shook her head sadly before replying, “I was on the phone with my sister and I was typing to Jazmine on my computer but I haven’t seen them or heard from them at all”

We both sighed in exasperation. This is beginning to become annoying. Well, my search isn’t over yet. I haven’t found all my friends or family yet.  

“There’s no time for being sad and emo! At least I know one of my buddies is okay!” She smiled and she gazed up into the sky.

‘You are really lucky, you wanted to have an adventure like this, and somehow it became possible” I frowned. I didn’t wish for my world disappearing into darkness to have an adventure like this, now did I? I certainly didn’t want to die either.

“Maybe, sometimes I think this could be considered as a punishment.” I suddenly admitted and Frances turned to look at me in confusement.

“How come?”

I paused. I can’t tell her the whole ‘Hoshi’ deal. I thought about it before looking back at her with an exhausted look. I took a deep breathe before turning to her with a serious expression.

“Because, 1. World disappeared 2. I ended up in this place, at the time when Sora was coming of all times. 3. I fought SOOOO many heartless my arms hurt so badly like I want to chop it off!” I exaggerated, using my left hand and pretending to cut my right arm. 

Frances looked at me, her lips twitching as she began laughing. Frances laughed while I continued to try cutting my arm off.

“Oh stop exaggerating.” She begged, holding her stomach from laughing so hard.

I even began laughing since her laugh seemed so contagious at the moment. Soon it tired out and Frances was trying to catch her breath. I snickered lightly, grinning as Frances finally let out a relief breath. She stood up straight and looked down the path. We entered the alleyway and she looked towards the hotel.

“Yuffie said to meet up with her in the hotel if I wanted to,” Frances began and I grinned in encouragement. “Go on, hang out with Final Fantasy characters if you want” I told her and she grinned sheepishly.

She was about to continue walking when she stopped. “Michelle” She turned around and suddenly embraced me with a tight hug that caught me off guard. I blinked a few times, awkwardly standing there. “Don’t ever stop believing. Don’t let her win.” She whispered. I froze, feeling my breath get caught in my throat. Was she referring to Hoshi? Did Frances actually meet her? Wait that would explain how Hoshi knew where Frances was. I took a second then returned the hug.

“Don’t worry about me” I reassured her and gave her a thumbs up. “I’ll be alright” Frances smiled softly and turned to head towards the hotel. I watched as she disappeared from my view and felt my heart wrench.

I hate how I’m lying and hiding a big secret from my best friend.

But I knew this wasn’t what was hurting me. I clutched my chest and covered my mouth when I felt something drip down my lips. Oh great! I’m going to die from blood loss if this continues!

_Michelle_

I lifted my gaze up and it instantly hardened. “Hoshi” I spat but covered my mouth again when I coughed violently again. There she stood, standing on freaking 2 inches of water, staring at me with such intensity that I was beginning to wonder what the hell she was thinking. She walked over to me and crossed her arms.

_Did you make your decision?_

I gulped back the blood and wiped whatever was on my lips. I flicked my hand towards the ground and then looked up to her. I remained silent until I felt something come from throat. A chuckle? Something like that I guess.

She raised a brow as I stood up straight and tall. “You want to know my decision” I repeated and grinned faintly.

“No”

_No?_

She stared at me disbelievingly, her eyes fixated on my face. She blinked once before she opened her mouth. “No?” She repeated, clearly sounding confused. She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head slowly.

“I don’t think you understand the full extent of what _death_ means now do you” She presumed darkly.

I think she’s the only one who could seriously kill me right now with that stare. I felt my blood go cold as I clenched my teeth. I can’t start to freak out even if I feel like she’s going to pull a dagger from somewhere from that look she was giving me. “I do understand” I told her.

“You told me to make a decision. You never asked me to question whether I was going to abandon my friends here to be stuck in this universe, or whether I cared enough about my new friends to leave them behind to—” I crossed my arms, taking a step forward and narrowing my attention to her. “—I choose death. I rather die than leave my friends behind.”

Hoshi stood there, a vacant look in her eyes as she stared directly at me. I guess I made my point. I turned around and decided to head through the Dalmatian House to get back to the 2nd District.

“In the end, I never really cared what would happen to me. Only theirs.” I whispered.

I took a few steps forward, wondering if she had disappeared or was too flabbergasted about the decision. Wouldn’t you? I mean, you get a chance to go back home but you have to probably (try to) forget about this all and leave your new friends behind?

I’m not like that; I wouldn’t abandon my friends like that. And beside…I’m still missing one more friend. I still need to look for her. She’s being too pushy. I grabbed the handle of the door when I paused. Something was wrong. I felt the air turning ice-cold as I began to notice my breath becoming visible. Next thing I knew was that my hand was beginning to become coated in a thin layer of ice and I immediately jerked my hand back. 

I looked seeing the handle to the door turn frozen solid and broke into shards of ice. I gulped and glanced down to my hand to see it was redden from the sudden freeze. My eyes widen in shock and I whirled around. Ice was beginning to coat everything surrounding the two of us. The ice began to slowly climb up the wall and doors of the buildings while I watched in astonishment. Then my gaze led me to Hoshi. The air around her was so concentrated that it seemed more like fog then some weird ice power she unexpectedly decided to show.

“I warned you—” She menacingly started, “—I tortured your body for you to get the hint!” The cold air current that floated around her began to swarm around her extended hand that she raised directly at me. I took a step back and held my fists up. Gotta stand my ground!

“Why are you _not afraid_?! Why can you not simply _accept_ that you belong elsewhere?!” Her footsteps seemed the very ground. I exhaled heavily, watching as a fog expelled from my lips. I remained silent, watching Hoshi carefully while she slowly approached me.

“I will _promise_ you that your friends will be returned safely.” She continued to bargain. I stared at her, shaking my head slowly and took a step back. “I think I finally figured why you’re so eager to get me out of here now instead of waiting till after this whole journey is over,” I realized.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. I met her with a similar glance, pointing directly at her.

“Once this is over, you won’t have the power you have now. That saying, you won’t be able to do this ever again, whoever is left will forever be stuck….” I looked at her, noticing her lips tightening to a firm line. I tilted my head before continuing, “You can’t take those who say no to you….isn’t that right?”

“How dare you?” She sneered.

I smirked, knowing I must’ve hit my target. That’s why Frances was going to be here, she must have freaked out when she saw her. Frances is not stupid either. I bet whoever else I knew would have done the same exact thing. We all watched Supernatural at this point, we’re not falling for this.

The air spun and twisted wildly at the center of her palm, forming into a spinning disk. Only thing different was that it begun to glimmer black. What the hell was she doing—almost instantaneously I noticed my question begin answered when I began looking around. Everything began to dim. I snapped my attention back to her, watching as the light began to whip and whirl into the disk of air she possessed. The whole alleyway was growing darker and darker by the minute.

How the hell was this possible!?

I stepped back then looked to the ground, watching as even the natural color seemed to be whisked away, and darkness completely taking over. The last bit of light was sucked off and it was like I was floating in the realm of darkness. I stared around in a midst before turning to face Hoshi.

“What do you plan on doing?!” I demanded loudly. I threw my hand out, summoning the Blue Kingdom keyblade.

Her eyes were unfazed at my actions as a smug smile began forming on her face. That’s when she began laughing. That took me off guard, watching as she laughed hysterically. I then began noticing why she was laughing. What happened to that orb she had?

Flames had then appeared. They glowed with a divine look to them but yet it seemed sinister being such a deep color of blue. I watched as they began to grow in length, resembling something of swords and they began to float in a harmonic movement around us. Hoshi laughter finally began to cease when she looked at me directly. My entire body froze within seconds of eye-contact. Her appearance flashed for a moment, resembling that woman I saw her turn into once. Her light brown hair, fair skin, golden brown eyes—

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!

“You were correct. I can’t take those who say no—” Now the flames stopped in position, creating this eerie atmosphere. I stared around, unable to fully understand what had just happened. I simply turned my head and looked at her direction. “—but it does not mean that I will break the rules for _him,”_

Her appearance changed once more, resembling the girl from before. Her indifferent forest eyes wavered for a moment before she closed them. I stared in horror, already having a bad idea what this was going to lead up to.

“But why….why do I matter?”

_This is much more than simply you._

She raised her arm up and opened her hand wide, extending all her fingers forth. The swords twisted themselves; the metal tips all pointing straight towards me. I twirled in a full circle, realizing that I was cornered and basically was going to die here. Especially when I found my legs beginning to freeze over and I glared harshly at Hoshi.

Then I felt weak. My breathing felt heavy as I looked at the flaming swords. I dropped my hands allowing my keyblade to disappear from sight. My only protection, my only reason I was in this situation in the first place. I knew this was my final moments and I was so scared.

I was about to die and strangely it felt welcoming. I let my eyes close and hanged my head lowly. ‘Sora, Donald, Goofy, Frances, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, Merlin, Kairi…everyone.’ I felt something run down my cheek leaving a wet trail behind. “I’m sorry for leaving like this”

I could only hold my arms in defense as I felt the flaming heat of several swords head directly towards me.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-France’s POV-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Frances smiled as Kairi and Aerith were chatting calmly in the hotel room while Yuffie was becoming high on sugar and was off on a ‘Bothering Squall’ spree. She was staring out the window and noticed it was strangely getting darker. Frances head tilted to the side, humming softly. What was taking Michelle so long?

“So Frances what’s your home world like?” Frances turned her head and looked to see Kairi staring at her eagerly to know. She hummed lightly. Well…it was boring that’s for sure. But wait. Frances blinked once then twice. Wh-What?

Her mind just went blank about everything.

‘Why…why can’t I remember anything’ Frances tried thinking but nothing would return. Everything seemed like blank pages in a book and nothing would return to fill it. Frances eyes widen in shock and put a hand to her forehead. Aerith looked at her concerningly.

“Is something wrong?” She asked calmly. Frances shook her head. “I don’t know.” She told them. “I-I just forgot about everything” She looked at Kairi and Aerith in fear and uneasiness.

“So you can’t remember anything from your world?” Kairi frowned lightly and looked at Aerith. That seriously didn’t make any sense.

“Maybe Michelle can help her with this; do you know where she is Aerith?” Kairi asked the brunette. Aerith shook her head leaving Kairi in dismay.

Frances looked between the two before she decided to ask. “Who’s Michelle?”

Kairi eyes widen in alarm and a startled Aerith gasped. Frances eyes moved back and forth between the two, wondering what might’ve startled them. Kairi glanced to Aerith who stood up.

“Frances, do you remember who you’re friends are?” Aerith decided to ask. Frances grimaced and shook her head.

“I remember a few…but they keep bleeding away in my mind.” Aerith stood up and looked at Kairi. “Keep an eye on her, I’m going to find Yuffie and Leon” She instructed Kairi. Kairi nodded and Aerith went out the door closing it quietly after her.

Kairi glanced to Frances who blankly was staring at where Aerith left. Though Kairi didn’t know Frances or Michelle that long, she could tell they were close friends. So how come Frances can’t even recall her name. Kairi hummed thoughtfully but was interrupted when Frances asked a question.

“Did something happen to this Michelle girl?” Kairi raised a brow. Frances lips moved to a thin line and looked out the window.

“I’m not sure, I remember…barely that she’s my friend. But I’m forgetting how we met, all sorts of things right now…I could remember though…hearing her say sorry.” Frances confessed. Kairi arched a brow and stared at the brunette in front of her.

“Sorry for what?” Kairi asked. Frances frowned and crossed her arms. The glare in her glasses prevented the red-head to see her eyes but could only imagine what she could be thinking.

“She said, she was sorry for leaving us behind”


	24. Recollection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, another chapter! Whoo! This may end sooner than i was hoping for. I'm glad i'm on a roll with this cause the next journey is going to be twice as fun. Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you enjoy today's chapter. Until next time~

“She’s sleeping ma,”

Wah? Why did that voice sound familiar. Especially, why did it sound _irritatingly_ familiar?

“Wake up!”

The darkness began to lift off me and I felt the heavy weight disappear from me. Snapping my eyelids open, I was startled to see familiar face staring directly down at me. An annoyed, irritated familiar face that seemed to be clenching his teeth in anger. Already a shiver bolted from my back and I gripped the cushion below me.

 “AHH!” I yelped and rolled off whatever I was laying on…only to hit the floor. Oww. Not the most pleasant way to wake up in the morning.

“Michelle! What the hell?!” I groaned lightly, rubbing my head. I looked up and simply stared. I think I’m in hell…my brother’s here, glaring down at me.

“Didn’t mami tell you to get the mail?” He demanded.

I sat up and looked at him then decided to look around. I was in my living room. I turned around to see my T.V was still on and my KH2 game was on pause. I blinked once then twice then for a third time before glancing back to my annoying brother. Okay….i am having the weirdest feeling of that dream haunting me right now.

“What happened?” I demanded, bolting up to a stand while my brother still towered over me. My brother was a large man, tanned and tattooed and easily towered over me. He was an intimidating fellow but he’s still my brother.

“You fell asleep and I had to get the mail.” He told me, frowning greatly.  

My eyes widen slightly and I backed an inch away from him. What had happened? My head hurts as if someone hit me with a baseball bat. Huh, speaking of baseball bats…never mind. My brother stared at me oddly before sighing loudly and leaving me alone in the living room. I stared out the window seeing that it was still a cloudy day. My eyes then trailed to the clock to see the red lights showing 12:13.

Could it be possible…that it was that all a dream?

I shook my head furiously at the thought and stared down at my hands. I held out my hand just to see if the keyblade would come to my hand. Nothing ended up appearing and I gave up the attempt. Yeah, that had to be a dream, an intense, wild ass dream. I rubbed my head and sat down on my couch lightly before looking at the game. I decided to un-pause the game and check out on where I was. It felt weird using the controller and controlling Sora throughout the game. Oh…I left out where I was about to fight Sephiroth and lose for like the 8th time. I hate this man.

I played for a little while to try and distract my thoughts, still thinking about the bizarre dream I had. It was so real, the sounds, the conversations, the worlds, it was all hands on. I could remember feeling the pain, the struggle, and all the crazy madness that followed with the dream. Sure, it seems outrageous saying it now but I feel like something is certainly missing. I placed a hand over my chest and sighed. What was this feeling…? Emptiness…?

I couldn’t shake it out of my head but I knew for a fact that something was missing. Next thing I knew I was getting up and walking towards my game collection. I flipped through the many games I had piled up next to the PS2 when I realized something horribly wrong. Where the hell was my Kingdom Hearts game?

I bit my lip and decided to check my ps2 memory card out. No data of the first game was on it. Holy mother-fudger where _is it?!_

My eyes widen and I inched away from the T.V. Okay, that’s not possible. That memory was my prized possession for the game. I made sure that I kept this memory card separated from the others because it had the 100% of the game finished. I grimaced, scratching my chin wondering if the dream was real. I tried recalling the dream, only pulling bits and pieces of it. I placed a hand to my head and cringed from the pounding feeling in my head.

_This is all a lie._

‘A lie’ the thought sounded more of a question then a repeat. This voice, it wasn’t like the voice I remembered from the dreams. It sounded more mature. Older and calmer too. Hmm, I wonder who that other girl was. The one that drove me nuts during the whole dream adventure. Eh, it’ll come to me in time. I scanned around to see if anyone was around. Nope. Maybe my mom left somewhere and my brother went to his room.

“Okay…” I started awkwardly, “If this is all a lie, then show me the truth!”

That’s when I heard the sound of something unlocking. I turned around to see my door slowly opening to the front yard. I stared at the exposed door when the voice made the suggestion.

_In order to learn the truth, doors must be open._

Heh, that is ironic in so many ways. I gulped lightly, feeling a faint breeze as I walked through the opened door and looked up towards the sky. The clouds were getting darker and a storm was soon to come.

_To lose is to find and to find is to lose._

My left eye twitched in annoyance as I walked down the street. Why must the mysterious voice quote Marluxia?! He repeated that so much that I probably can memorize each place where he said it at and how many times he said it!

And why would she even mention that to me? What did I lose that I need to find? Or I in order to find something I need to lose something. Ugh.

My arms were crossed; my eyes were set forward with three simple goals. One; Find out whole the hell is the little voice in my head, Two; Find out why I feel like something is missing, and Three: Find out exactly what is going on and what she meant about everything being a lie. I looked down at the paved street and began to wonder about that dream. It was too realistic for sure. I was in the Kingdom Hearts game, but hey, I think everyone has a dream like that. …So why does this one feel so different? I placed a hand over my chest and clutched my necklace lightly.

“I need to figure out what’s going on” I muttered.

_Stop_

The voice came unexpectedly causing me to halt and stare around in wonder. Okay, four way intersection, no cars, nobody walking around. It’s kinda creepy being the only one on the street and you don’t hear anything. Peaceful yes but disturbing to one who knows that cars drive all the time on the street. I awkwardly glanced around till I found something that caught my eye.

A metal baseball bat was lying in the middle of the street. I raised a brow. That’s certainly questionable. I sauntered over to it and carefully picked it up. Maybe it belongs to one of the kids on the street and they heard the thunder and went on running to hide in their homes. I was planning on throwing it back when I abruptly felt compelled to. The handle gripped in my hand and I stared at the black object before me.

I murmured, “I guess I’ll hold onto it.”

I lowered the bat down and continued walking down the street. Great, I just stole a bat….well this could be considered borrowing. I sighed in annoyance and bowed my head slightly. I’ve been walking aimlessly for the past 10 minutes. The sky had turned pitch black while I continued my walk with the ominous voice leading me to somewhere. I looked around cautiously as the wind began to pick up, blowing my hair vigorously around. I frowned. Is moves too easily, even with a light breeze, this is just ridiculous. I grabbed my black tie from my wrist and began to tie my hair up when that voice returned.

_It begins once again._

“What does?” I demanded lowly and pulled my hair into a tight ponytail. The sound of lightning rang through the quiet neighborhood causing me to stare up and slowly my eyes filled with horror. A funnel shaped hole began to appear in the dark abyss of the sky and began to take a form.

Holy. Wh-What is that?

I gasped loudly and took a step back in result. It looked like how I imagined a black hole would look like or something. What the heck! This is like the thing from Kingdom—

Okay, this can NOT be a coincidence. This must be a sign that the dream had more meaning to it then I suspected. But jeez! It didn’t have to go off so far into the extreme of proving a point.

_This is what happened that night._

Her voice echoed around me and I suddenly froze in realization. Wait, this feels like a déjà vu moment. I gripped my head in pain and stared shakily at the ground below me.

“What does this mean!?” I demanded. “Why does it seem like I lived this all before!?”

_Because you have. You were a defender for this world previously._

Wait…what now?!

I stared up and hoped for some kind of answer. But I didn’t get the one I wanted to see. Darkness began to engulf everything that surrounded me and some familiar faces appeared from the murky shadows. My eyes widen, my heart stopped, my mind went blank.  Heartless. Everywhere. They began swarming around, hungrily looking for hearts to prey on and devour. And I’m right in the middle of all this. My eyes expanded and a great sense of ‘Get the hell out of here’ was running through my head. I turned around. I smarter than this, I have to get out of here! I’m not going to die like this. But as I took my first step forward, I suddenly felt like I fell into water. I bended my head down to find that I was sinking into a dark pool.

“OH WHAT THE HECK?!” I screamed loudly. I began to squirm around, trying desperately to get out of this mess. 

_You must lose to find._

‘Shut the heck up, I’ve had enough of these god damn voices already.’

I gritted my teeth and knew I was beginning to sink even faster. Well great, nice way to die now isn’t it. The darkness was about to my neck now and I craned as far as I can to keep breathing. I stared up into the darken sky. Why did this happen? What was I supposed to realize!?

I hoped for an answer, I wished for an answer, heck, I’ll even beg for an answer! Just tell me why this is happening?! The darkness was beginning to reach the corner of my face and I took in a deep breathe. For one more moment I looked up towards the sky and hoped.

That’s when I suddenly felt something grab my shirt. I was suddenly pulled out from the darkness and tossed to the paved street. I gasped and began coughing hoarsely. I turned my head slightly and glanced at my ‘savior’. A woman stood there, standing tall with platinum blonde hair that shined gray, she proudly wore a long white trench coat lined with dark lines. She wore black pants with purple designs at the bottom helm and with white combat boots. I blinked a few times; trying to make sure who was there was actually real.  She turned around, her gray eyes piercing right through me as she examined me.

“That was rather close” She exclaimed softly.

The pool of darkness had disappeared and she grabbed the metal bat that remained in its place. She walked towards me and pointed the tip of the bat towards me. She studied me for a few seconds while I only could imagine what was going on in her head.

“She has placed many chains on you I see” The woman said, not once moving the bat away from my face. Wait, who’s ‘she’? And more importantly, who’s this lady? I gulped quietly and gently pushed the end of the bat out of my face.

 “What are you talking about lady? Who’s she and what chains do you see on me?” I asked her.

 She avoided my stare and harshly pointed the bat towards my face again; basically the bat was right at my nose. Jeez, she could go with a kill move here.

“Do not refer to me as lady! And you will find out once your memories are returned to you” She exclaimed impatiently. Okay, maybe I got her a little annoyed. I crossed my arms and stared at her. “So what do I ‘refer’ to as then?” I said.

“Call me Juliana,” She then flipped the bat into the air and now the handle of the bat was facing me. I blinked questionably at it before staring up at her. “Come on, I must help you with regaining your memories if you hope to help your friends” Juliana told me and I grabbed the bat from her. I raised a brow and looked at her.

“My friends? What happened to them?!” I jumped to a stand and she merely rolled her eyes in response. She began walking down the street while I stared in disbelief. Who does she think she is, queen of the world? I frowned and growl rumbled through my throat but eventually sighed in defeat.

I jogged over to the silverette and we began making our way through the small city. While we were walking I tried getting her to tell me what she meant about before but she remained silent.  Grr, she’s not becoming my favorite person to be with at the moment.

Well I guess I can make fun of her mentally, LADY LADY LADY! Can’t you please be nice and answer me!  I heard a small ‘Tch’ come from her direction and I quickly glanced to her.

……….Oh please don’t tell me she can read minds. With my luck she probably does.

I started thinking of the possibilities when I noticed a change in the area. The landscape was becoming disfigured, morphing into something completely unknown. I stopped and stared around. What the hell? This looks like something ripped from Final Fantasy, haven’t really played it to prove it though

“What’s going on?!” I whirled around to see Juliana standing in front of a large white door. I faintly gasped and looked around. Everything suddenly turned white…yup. I must be dead. I’m living some weird ass dream now. My eyes remained wide as I turned around and walked towards the silverette.

She turned around, being the only thing blocking me from the magical door that decided to come to whatever this place is!

“I told you before. In order to learn the truth—” She began. The door began to crack open creating an ominous, golden light to appear behind the woman causing me to stare in awe.

“Doors must be open” She finished with a small smirk on her face.  ….. Wait. WHAT!? Was _SHE_ the voice from before?! My eyes widen and I shook my head furiously. Think of it only as a déjà vu moment! That’s all! Déjà vu! I breathed shakily while she tilted her head, blinking a few times. I need to know, might as well ask.

“So, my dream” I began. “It wasn’t a dream…after all was it?” Juliana remained silent but nodded in response. My eyes widen and I could feel my heart beat faster than normal. So I wasn’t going crazy? I knew that dream was too realistic to be not true! I suddenly began grinning and punched the air.

“All right! I knew it couldn’t have been a lie!” That really would’ve bothered me for the rest of my life if it was a lie. So that must’ve mean I was a kick butt fighter— I paused. Wait, but I don’t have any memory of fighting. Oh schnitzel. I’m screwed for now. And wait, on a more important note.

“So how come I get use the keyblade?” I asked. Juliana eyes wandered away from me and towards the door that cracked open, showing a bit of light from the other side.

“The answer lies beyond these doors. Each time you remember more, the chains on you will break. Once they are all but broken is when you’ll be able to unleash your true powers” She stated firmly. My true powers? I hummed lightly, nodding my head slightly before looking back up to her.

“Then let’s go. Might as well get this over with” She stared at me closely; void of any expression but she eventually turned and opened the door. I shielded my eyes from the intensity of the light while she began to walk through and I shortly followed in suite.

Okay, so if I break these chains, I get my memories back. That’s good to know. But if I was right about before, her being the voice in my head, then….what did she mean ‘To find is to lose and to lose is to find’.  I could feel my heart racing as ideas began to pour into my head and scenarios began to play out. Oh I have a very bad feeling I’m going to get hurt in the end.

I was drifting in my train of thoughts when Juliana stopped walking and held her arm out to prevent me from going any further. I glanced at her then forward when my eyes widen in horror.

I shakily looked back at her while she remained blank. “Wh-what’s going on?!” I demanded.

 In front of us laid a giant mile wide hole filled with darkness. Huge heartless that resembled the one Sora had to fight in Destiny Island, appeared in large numbers destroying anything that was in there paths. As I leaned forward it was as if I could hear the screaming of everyone who had lost their hearts. Hundreds, no, thousands were wailing in pain, screaming for mercy and for their children to be saved. I put a hand over my mouth, suddenly having a horrible urge to throw up. Even the smell of death was reeking the air. Oh god, this was vile. I was staring in disbelief. Weren’t we just going through a door of light?! How did we end up here?!

“This world is dying, the heartless have begun to consume the heart of it,” She explained. The wind began to blow violently around us and Juliana’s narrowed her eyes to the floor. “Even now, you can hear the Earth’s cries, her moaning blowing along the winds, her struggling with the ground, her will dwindling in the flames” Juliana said softly, almost sorrowfully.

I glanced at her sadly but I heard something out of the ordinary. Silence. Everything had suddenly turned silent. I looked around and saw that nothing was moving. Everything had frozen the wind, the flames and the heartless! Time itself was probably frozen! I opened my mouth to say something when Juliana covered it.

“Stop making comments,” She requested politely, hovering her finger to her lips and made a small hush noise. I blinked once and looked forward. Nothing was moving so I decided to close my eyes.

**_‘Let time be frozen till the world is restored to its natural order.’_ **

My eyes snapped open and I looked around questionably. Someone was talking just now. It wasn’t like Juliana or that other weird one. It sounds—no more like feels like a guy is talking.

_But how long will that take? Will we have enough time to get those that were misplaced and return them back here?_ **‘ _Do not worry, they shall all come back. But there is one I should worry about’._** Okay this back and forth conversation is beginning to confuse me.

_Sir? **‘One has gained a weapon, same as the one the boy possess.’** What?! **‘Her ties is strong to their universe I’m afraid. If she locks the door, I’m afraid she won’t—’**_

The next I hear was the screeching noise of a heartless hovering over us. We both looked up to the sky to see—err what is it? I tilted my head trying to get a better look at the heartless. It wasn’t like anything I’ve ever seen. Kind of reminded me of a colossus. I jumped back as I heard the loud cry split through the sky.

 “What is that?! Is that a heartless?!” I demanded, turning my head slightly to face Juliana but I kept a very close eye on the giant enemy in flight. Juliana shook her head. “It’s something like it I suppose.” She answered and held her hand out. A slight breeze began to form around her, swirling into a small ball shaped orb.

I blinked a few times when suddenly it changed into a beautiful silver staff with white and black dust radiating off of it. “Whoa” I stared in awe at Juliana as she twirled the staff once in her hands before getting taking a stance. Wait, what does she think she’s doing?!

“Are you actually going to take that thing on?!” I asked incredulously. From what I could see she actually smirked at my comment. The giant bird rotated in the sky, letting out a loud shriek that caused me to look back and forth between Juliana and the bird that was about to come and kill us.  Juliana turned her head to glance at me with a bored expression.

“I suggest you move unless you expect to help me fight this.” She exclaimed.

She’s right. I don’t know how to fight. I don’t have a keyblade and I certainly know that a metal bat won’t do much for it. I bit my lip and decided to take a couple steps back. Looking up, I saw the bird with its talons extended out to snatch up a victim. Now I’m running.

“RAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Run away!

I dashed over to whatever large debris I could hide under which happened to be an over turned car. I slid behind it and looked through the shattered glass window to see if Juliana would be okay. The creature was a few feet away, its talons close enough to rip at her petite body. Move Juliana! Move!

I covered my eyes and quickly begged to god that she would move out the way before it would get her. Instead I heard the wail of something that resembled nails scrapping down on the chalkboard. I moved my hand away from my eyes to see Juliana landing back on the ground, her staff glowing an eerily, snow aura. I turned my attention away from the woman to find a gruesome scene. The bird was dead on the ground, a large gory wound to its back was where she probably attacked it. I stared at it then looked back to Juliana.

She killed it with one attack?

I stepped away from the car and took a few steps towards the silverette. Her staff disappeared in black dust and she let out a huge sigh in relief. My eye twitched while I examined the dead body of the creature then to Juliana.

“What did—how did you?” I couldn’t sum up the words that I wanted to ask her. She turned to look at me with a raised brow and smirked in response. The dead body began to glow and disintegrated into thin air, leaving behind it a white door that was wide open. What is up with all these doors? I stared questionably at it while Juliana rubbed her shoulders.

“You need to retrieve your memories and your powers back quickly. That’s the reason why I’ll help you throughout this.” She told me. I glanced at her worriedly before staring at the door. I felt a hand touch my shoulder and Juliana stretched her head to look over at me with a small smile on her features.

“Don’t believe you’re doing this alone. Trust in me and more importantly trust yourself” She patted my shoulder and began to walk off into the path of the door. I stared at the disappearing woman before slowly looking around. The stench of death still lingered around this degrading world, my world, my life…burned away. I heavily sighed and walked after her. Looks like she’s my only hope.

Where were we heading now?

My eyes scanned the new path we were heading through and I was beginning to wonder why it felt like this was familiar. Juliana was by my side; keeping a close eye at everything we passed by. A mist was growing around the ground we walked upon and I was becoming a little nervous. It was pretty eerie. It was like walking through a haunted graveyard in the middle of the night, like something was going to jump out at you and eat you.

I kind of wish that it was like before, the nice little place where everything was white and bright, not dark and creepy.

“So what’s next on the agenda?” I decided to ask, hoping to strike up a conversation. Juliana glanced at me from the corner of her eye. What? It was a genuine question. She looked straight but then she turned her head towards me and slowed down to come to be at my side.

“Do you want to continue on with this quest of yours?” She questioned me, a look of curiousity on her face. I raised a brow. She stopped walking causing me to slow down and turn to face her.

“What?”

“Do you want to continue on this journey?” Juliana demanded again. I rubbed the back of my neck and looked at her. “Of course I want to continue on” I told her. She frowned and crossed her arms, raising a brow of suspicion at me. “I don’t think you understand what I’m really trying to ask you” She muttered loudly.

Now it was my turn to raise a brow. How can I not understand this? It’s a yes or no question. She took a few steps away from me, her eyes never leaving me. She began to circle me slowly and cautiously, waiting to see what I would do.

“What if…” She finally halted, turning her whole body away from me so I could only face her back. I remained blank till I began to notice the fog beginning to rise up and cause everything I could see to be engulfed in the mist. “I disappeared?” Her voice echoed throughout the fog creating a sense of disturbance in my mind.

“What if you were alone with no one to help you? To protect you?” She questioned. I looked around wondering where she was at the current moment. I tightened my grip on the metal bat and turned my head around to try to find Juliana.

“What if you return and no one remembers you? You’re new friends? Perhaps even your old ones?” She demanded lightly snickering at the end.

“What’s your point?!” I snapped.

The fog thickened to a point where if I were to put my hand in front of my face I still wouldn’t be able to see it. Jeez, she’s really trying to freak me out and what’s worse is that it’s working. After a few moments of silence, I believed Juliana left me here. Great… But I turned out to be wrong when I heard her footsteps come closer to me then came to a stop.

 “I want to know if you’re committed to the cause” She responded lowly, almost faintly.  Finally I felt a blow to my stomach that caused me to hit the rocky wall behind me and I dropped the bat. I groaned in pain and clutched my stomach, leaning forward and taking a deep breath to try and relax myself.

 “Yes I am! Why would I risk my neck to go back to a place where I could very where easily die?” I told her angrily wherever she was. She never replied but I heard the sound of water dripping.

Curiosity getting to me, I stood up using my bat as a supporter. I flinched in pain from my stomach but I trailed down the rocky wall as I heard the sound of water getting louder. I felt the water beginning to hit my hair and it trailed down my face. The fog began to lessen up and I squinted to see a light at the end of the tunnel. I picked up my bat and began hastily making my way out of here. When I reached the light, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Pebbles fell off the edge of the cliff I stood upon now; a great length before falling into a vast river below. Where am I this time? The sun was high above in the sky but it was a downpour somehow. No clouds but rain continued on. The land was blossoming with wild, exotic plants I could never imagine seeing my lifetime. Trees were skyscrapers here and flowers were as large as regular trees at home. I blinked a few times at the site and rubbed my eyes furiously before looking at it again. This is real.

Oh my god, this is all real.

“Michelle” I jumped at the suddenness of Juliana’s voice that I raised the bat and almost swung at her but she ducked swiftly and grabbed the bat with her left hand. Ooooh. Not the best move I’ve made. She stared at me in annoyance, releasing the bat cautiously and I laughed nervously while withdrawing my bat. She straightened herself up and looked over to the distance.

“Wow, that’s quite a view.” Juliana remarked jokingly but I didn’t laugh. Her smile disappeared and she looked back to the bigger picture.

“I needed you to open your eyes,” Juliana told me. I tilted my head to her and frowned. Yeah, this is certainly opening my eyes to see…what point? She sighed and rubbed her temples.

“Look, I know you want to save your friends and help your new friends save all the worlds but you’re not thinking realistically to the greatness of this all.” She explained lightly while grimacing faintly. 

“Realistically?” I repeated harshly. She thinks I’m not taking this seriously?! I growled lightly and Juliana shot me a look that told me to hold off with it. Great, she has more to say. She placed both of her hands on my shoulders and stood in front of me.

“You believe once this is over you’ll be able to go home back with your friends and family and live a normal life again right?” Juliana asked me carefully. I raised a brow but nodded. That’s my plan basically. She frowned sadly and shook her head.

“That won’t be possible Michelle” She exclaimed.

“Why not?” I questioned immediately and bit my lip. She shook her head.

“Because you posse the keyblade. Whoever wields one of these weapons can never have a normal life. Dangers will haunt you no matter what” She said softly and her hands fell to her sides. I bit my lip and crossed my arms. I get the whole I won’t have a normal life but—

“Once the worlds are sealed, the universes will disconnect from each other” She finished sharply.

Everything at that moment turned silent. I stared at her and from what I could see the rain was frozen in midair. I could feel my heart beating hard against my chest and I gulped faintly.

“So…what happens when they disconnect?” I whispered.  

“They will separate. Anything that hasn’t returned to its original world will remain where they were and will be forced to get use to this new universe” She casted her glance away from me and took a step away. The landscape was beginning to change again. It was coming in and out, morphing from the jungle wilderness to something...different.

Fields of grass began to grow where the water use to rage on, the trees and plants were replaced with small houses that clustered around each other forming some kind of small city I suppose. A loud whistle rang causing me to look down to see a train coming from out of nowhere heading towards this small city. I blinked a few times in astonishment before looking at Juliana. Her gray eyes reflected the town and for a moment I saw a glimpse of sadness waver over her calmness. She closed her eyes immediately and drew in a breath. I bit my lip and turned around.

“You would have to live here, with a family and friends that are not your own but will remind you painfully of them.” She knelt to the ground and swung her legs over the edge, letting them hang lazily over the cliffside. I blinked a few times before slowly joining her.

I leaned forward slightly and looked at the silverette woman.

“Juliana, why are you helping me” I asked carefully. She stared at the town before looking at me.

“Because I was like you once, I lived on Earth; I was a young woman who dreamed nothing more but to escape her mundane life,” She paused for a minute and closed her eyes. “I thought, this world was far too small, oh but how wrong I was. I made the decision to leave and never look back, leaving behind everyone I ever cared about to wither away in time.”

I looked at Juliana as she continued looking out towards the distance. It sounded a little bit more personal then she was telling me. I think there is more to her story but I was going to subject her to more questions. I folded my arms neatly over my legs and sighed, rubbing my temple.

Juliana looked once more, “Think carefully about this.”

I lazily put my arm over my knee and stared off into the distance. Could I accept living in a world not my own? With people that only resemble my loved ones? My eyes narrowed down to the great grass fields below, blowing gently from the wind. No, I wouldn’t be able to accept it. How could I accept living with replicas? They don’t hold the same memories or feelings as the real deal. It would be hard to adjust and as selfish as I may sound, I really don’t think I could give up something as precious as that.

I frowned and closed my eyes, hoping to return to a time where I was not expected to make these kinds of decisions, where danger like this didn’t even exist. But even that didn’t seem possible at the moment. I suppose—

Suddenly the light bulb in my head finally flickered on. How could I be so blind to that?! “Tch” Juliana turned her head to my direction and raised a brow while I held a bright smirk across my face. She stared at me questionably but didn’t bother to ask.

“I finally made my decision” I retorted.

Juliana blinked once but as she studied my face I could only guess that she knew what I was thinking since she gave me an understanding smile. I had remembered an important being that had caused this all to happen in the first place. Hoshi, she held the lock to my chains. Well that’s what I bet. And it’ll be a gamble of fate and destiny in order to somehow come out of this alive and to return back to my friends. Juliana smiled and stood up. The cliff suddenly began to shake and rocks slide out to form a stairwell to another golden door waiting a couple feet away.

“I suppose you are committed to your own cause then.” She observed smoothly. I gave her a small wink and headed first down the stone stairs. She followed in suit but suddenly paused causing me to stop.

“What’s up?” I asked. Before I knew it, I was suddenly grabbed and held down when the door flung open with a gust of wind following. “Tch!” The gale force nearly knocked me over but Juliana’s steady foot kept me from becoming a human kite.

I shielded my eyes and peered to the door. Nothing but darkness remained in there and I blinked a few times. Why was this door different from the others? “Michelle!” Juliana’s voice snapped my out and I looked at her. Her teeth were clenched tightly and she wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

 “It looks like this is where we go our separate ways!” She said loudly over the howls of the wind. WAIT!? WHAT?!?!?! My eyes widen largely and she struggled to get me to a stand.

“I thought you said you were going to help me out!” I yelled at her, grabbing her arm as I tried baring the wind. It felt like it was about to cut into my skin any minute now. Juliana gave a faint smile and reached into her pocket. She pulled a small keychain shaped as the sun that waved rapidly in the wind. She slapped it into my hands and curled my hands to hold it tightly.

“I know! But remember what I said before? Sometimes you need to do things alone in order to accomplish something higher! You must beat Hoshi! Don’t worry; you’ll be able to do it! You have your own tricks up your sleeves” She smiled and grabbed my wrists tightly. Slowly she began leading me down the stone stairs when I noticed the rocks beginning to fall apart from the cliff.

She is either completely nuts or a suicidal hero!  Abruptly I felt Juliana lifted my up by my wrists and I stared at her wildly. She grinned back.

“Make me proud kiddo!” She screamed and swung me towards the door. She’s nuts. WAAAAAAAAH!!! I couldn’t tell if I was screaming more in my mind then wondering what was about to happen to me.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-[Kairi’s POV]-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Kairi frowned. Something extremely wrong was going on. Everyone couldn’t remember Michelle excluding herself and Aerith who even now is having some hard times remembering the brunette. What was going on?! She didn’t understand any of this. She hoped that Sora would remember her but he stared at her and asked if she was okay. Oh that frustrated Kairi to no end.

How could a person just up and disappear? Even from the memories of person? It wasn’t possible. She looked out the apartment window to look up at the twilight sky. Sora, Donald, and Goofy had left a little while ago to return back to Hollow Bastion.

Kairi only wished that she could go with them and help them but she knew Sora wouldn’t allow it. Not after all that happened. “Kairi” Kairi’s attention was diverted and she turned to see Frances at the door with a small smile on her face. Kairi returned the smile and gestured her to come in.

Frances flopped on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. “So have you remembered anything about her?” Kairi decided to ask. Frances shook her head and sighed theatrically. “Nope” She answered quietly. Kairi gave a similar sigh in response and crossed her arms in annoyance.

“I only wish I could remember her” Frances sat up and groaned loudly. “It doesn’t make sense! If we were best friends, how come I can’t even picture her in my head?” Frances demanded in aggravation. Kairi shrugged.

Frances fell back on the bed, letting out another groan. It really didn’t make any sense. Kairi remember when she first met Michelle, she instantly knew something was strange about her. It was like she had another spirit to her, something that was dragging her along for the ride. Kairi was almost afraid of trusting her. But she proved otherwise.

She showed great concern to someone she hasn’t even talked to and she seemed to know about Kairi a lot, even a little more than Donald and Goofy. She tried her best to keep everyone together, to keep them alert but at the same time she tried lighting up the mood even when it was at its most grim.

Donald once remarked that she was the strategist of the group. Kairi could see it, someone had to make the plans while else Sora would just charge into battle. Kairi sighed at the thought of it. Ooooh, why was everything fading? And why wasn’t she being affected?

‘Wait’ Kairi thought suddenly and straightened herself in her seat. ‘Maybe it was that light from her keyblade, the one that pierced the darkness when I protected Sora from the heartless’  She remembered the moment perfectly. The heartless jumped her, she could feel herself sinking into darkness, and it was beginning to get cold. She was afraid but never felt braver in her life at that single moment in time.

Then a light shed through the darkness, causing Kairi to open her eyes and suddenly she saw a faint figure. She squinted in the light but she began to make out the figure. “SORA!” Then the next moment, Sora held her tightly against his chest, his arms wrapped around her petite body.

She’ll never forget that moment.

“OH WHAT THE HECK!?” The two teens jumped when they heard the loud yell from outside the hall. They both sat up only to have Yuffie slam open the door with Aerith behind her, trying to calm her down. Yuffie seemed greatly annoyed, something that never happens to the kunoichi.

“What’s the matter Yuffie?” Frances asked. Yuffie crossed her arms and growled lightly. “I remember who Michelle is that’s what and I can’t find her anywhere!” Yuffie retorted angrily throwing a small hissy fit in frustration. Aerith tried calming the ebony teen down but it seemed none of her words were getting through to her. But Kairi and Frances eyes were widen in shock and Kairi felt a ping of hope at that moment.

“So wait! How did it happen?!” Frances demanded. Yuffie finally stopped and paused to think for a minute.

 “Well it was while Aerith was talking to Leon about her, asking if he remembered her which he said no” Yuffie began. “She already asked me twice about her but I kept saying no. But when I was passing by them I then remembered something very important was missing”

At that moment Yuffie’s fist tightened and anger or extreme annoyance was her current emotion. “SHE HAS MY FREAKING MATERIA!!!!!”

 “It’s something Yuffie collected while she was little and even now. They say to have magic in each sphere and even have the power to summon” Aerith explained quickly to Kairi’s and Frances’s blank faces. Frances nodded slightly while Kairi still was confused. How could a little sphere hold that kind of power? But on the subject change, this was great! Somebody else was remembering her! Kairi glanced to Frances noticing her blank expression.

“So Yuffie, which one does she have?” Aerith asked curiously. Yuffie clenched her teeth and crossed her arms. “She has that new one I found, the one I mastered the other day, umm…Thundaga!”

Aerith blinked a few times and put a hand to her chin, drifting off to a very deep thought. Yuffie pouted, muttering how if she was ever to see that girl again she would kick her till she gave up her newest materia. Kairi looked between the two then back to Frances. Her eyes were casted down and she could hear her sigh.

“Why can’t I remember you?”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-[Original POV]-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ow, fuck, itai, whatever you want to say for ‘Ouch that hurt like hell’. I groaned in pain after feeling everything in my body stiff and sore. Oohhh, Juliana, why the hell did you have to throw me so damn hard!?  I rolled to my side, feeling the pain intensify and I swore to myself.

Now I was in total darkness; no wait. I looked down to see white petals shatter from the ground, scattering all over into the air and I looked up. I looked down to see I was on a platform.

The Station of Awakening. Designs of runes, ruin buildings, stars, and two large flowers intertwined in the middle. One was the color blue and the other a heavenly gold. Thorns were poking from the golden one and trying to cut into the blue one. But the blue one was glowing faintly and the thorns couldn’t cut. Wow, this was amazing yet it was so disturbing to look at it. Finally sitting up, I looked down to see my bat was two feet away from me with a small yellow object rolling against it.

“Hey…it’s the yellow crystal I took—err— borrowed from Yuffie” I slapped my head.

I really need to start rephrasing my sentences too. I crawled over to the bat and the large marble shaped object. I picked it up, staring interestingly at it and rubbed my thumb across it. I remember Yuffie telling me something about how this was able to use magic or summon something beyond imagination. What was it called again? Material? No, no, no, I think it was something like Materia. I thought back to what Juliana had said to me before throwing me into the door before it shut.

“I have a couple of tricks up my sleeves huh” I muttered.

I tossed the materia a couple times into the air and watched as it slightly glowed. It had somewhat of a shocking touch to it. I caught it and placed it in my pocket. I used the bat to get up and then felt something odd that caused me to stop from moving. My eyes narrowed and I gripped the bat handle.

“So…you’re the one…aren’t you?” I said to the dark abyss above. A faint snicker echoed around me and I looked up to see a light descending down to the floor a couple of feet away from me. I narrowed my eyes till a figure came from it. At first, she looked strikingly like me but her hair turned dark black and her eyes flashed green. She wore a gray t-shirt with one long sleeve and a white tang-top underneath it and brown pants.

“Hoshi is it?” I crossed my arms while I saw Hoshi stare at me in disbelief and amusement. “So you’re alive after all huh” She exclaimed and mimicked my movement. Alive? I stared at her oddly before a vision flashed before my eyes. Swords, fire, a keyblade disappearing.

Was this what happened to me? She—she freaking killed me! :O I stuttered to try to find the words while she held her hand out. The temperature dropped drastically in the air and I could see my breath become visible. Suddenly an ice began to materialize into her hand and formed into a blade. Her hand coaxed in a small layer of ice and grabbed hold of the frozen weapon. I took a steady step back as she held the sword in front of her with two hands gripped on.

“So you can’t even recall your time in this universe can you?” Hoshi demanded smugly. I glared at her and slugged the baseball bat over my shoulder. “For the most of it, no, but I’ll remember what’s truly important” I retorted. Hoshi shook her head and scoffed in embarrassment.

“I could only wonder how you survived” Hoshi said and raised the sword. I smirked and pulled out the keychain Juliana gave me and the materia. “I had help from people I could never expect to trust. But they gave me strength, strength to believe in myself and put me on a path that I’m willing to walk on” I told her. I smirked and gave a small laugh.

All those good times during my adventures began to come back to me, meeting those I admire since I was a child, challenging those I could never imagine, and experiencing something that only one in a million could get.

My bat suddenly felt lighter in my hand and my keychain disappeared from my left hand. “Huh?” Both Hoshi and I were surprised to see a white keyblade flash into my hands, radiating a golden light. I blinked a few times and stared in awe at the new keyblade. Hoshi seemed too dumbfounded to believe it.

_A heavenly light shall show you the path._

I smiled softly and tightened my grip on the keyblade and held onto the materia tightly. “You see, I have people that believe in me, that’s my strength. Strength that I’ll use to protect everyone!” I declared and pointed the keyblade threateningly at Hoshi.

Hoshi glared and the air turned so ice cold that flurries of snow began to descend down on the floor. The flowers on the station began to glow, representing both sides. Me blue, Hoshi gold.

“I’ll be sure to permanently get rid of you and make sure order is restored to the worlds!” She  sneered, the golden light below her glowing brilliantly. I didn’t respond, lifting my keyblade with my right hand straight at her and tightened my grip on the materia with my left. Please! Let my friends strength be with me.

“Let’s end this” Hoshi and I stared down. This battle will be the fate of destinies.


	25. Challenging Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Riiiight. We're getting to the near end folks! If I guess this right, maybe only five more chapters left in this series! Then I'm going to take a little bit of a break so I can edit the few couple of chapters and figure out how i'm going to start this brand new squeal. Weeeeeeee! So much fun, much fun. Hehehe~ Enjoy everyone, until next time!

It was the beginning of the end for me. Depressing right?

Well, I kind of figured that when she began lashing out with that ice blade of hers. The sound of blades clashing rang through my ears. I can’t get one direct hit on her! I slashed down, up, left, right but she would always counter me. I could feel my balance beginning to fail me but I used it as an advantage to dodge Hoshi’s lethally accurate attacks. Hoshi was impressive; I didn’t know how long I could hold myself against her.

“Stop squirming around” I heard her shout from above.

I darted my attention up to see her about to strike me but I blocked her attack with Heavenly Light. Sparks radiated from the blades, grinding and parrying each other. All I’m going to say is that this keyblade is probably the reason I’m still alive. With the higher stats in defense and strength, I was able to counter her attacks. I held my stance on the ground yet her strength was overwhelming. I lost footing, her blade freed from my guard. I instantly slashed at her causing her to back off in defense. I landed on the floor and groaned. I’ll never get use to falling on my butt or back ever again. I rubbed my head wearily before shooting my attention towards her direction seeing her gracefully land on the ground.

“Frost!” She casted loudly, a mist form behind her and ice shards came directly at me. Oh shit! I rolled out the way and spun around to get back on my feet. This fight seems more like that Ice Titan fight. Sure, this could be easy if I could hit her with some fire attacks but here’s the bad thing—

“FIRE!” I held my hand out but only a flicker of flame came. FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!—I can’t use magic what so ever. I flipped backwards, dodging another spear of ice that was heading my way. Sweat trailed down my face as I panted, already feeling unease that magic wasn’t going to be on my side this time.

‘All right, I have to start thinking of a plan if I expect to live.’ I thought tensely. But how could I think of a plan when I’m already trying to avoid thinking about dying.

Hoshi’s hand was beginning to thaw from the layered ice and her grip was getting loose. She was getting relaxed, she’s going on defense. I twirled the keyblade in my right hand, getting a good grip on it before lunging at her. Well here goes nothing. She blocked my first attack and deflected my second. She tried taking a stab out of me but I step to the side, the tip of the blade barely missing my face but I made my move. I grabbed her arm and threw her behind me.

I could hear her say “What the—” before she decided to turn and I took the advantage by combo’ing the HECK out of her.

Strike after strike, slash after slash, I wouldn’t give her the chance to get back and attack me. Her sword took most of the beating but I manage to scratch her face. Taking that mere second I hurled our blades upwards and slammed my knee against her stomach. She skidded against the ground, her gaze reaching mines and revealed her sinister look.

I glared, charging towards her to prevent whatever the idea she had in mind. Hoshi lifted her blade as it began to glow a bright blue. ‘Why have I seen that move before?’ My senses froze when she slammed the blade down on the ground. The ground froze and a beam of ice projected in a form of a pillar towards my direction. My eyes widen and I only could manage to block it with the keyblade. Instead, I was knocked off my feet and hit the floor with a roll. I rubbed my jaw carefully before shooting my attention back, seeing the blue glow admit again, radiating three more pillars towards my direction. I hurled myself towards the other direction, rolling to dodge the other pillars. I clenched my fists once the assault had halted and panted.

Wait… What happened to the keyblade? I gasped, looking up to see it was caught in the ice pillar. Oh hell, my luck is screwing with me now. The keyblade was enveloped within the icy pillar, glistening and unable to be taken back easily. I turned to face Hoshi who stood up and wiped off her pants.

“Persistence won’t get you far.” She exclaimed, raising her sword.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance and ran to the ice pillar. I have to get it back! Yet before I could reach it Hoshi was right in front of me, the sword gripped in her hand and she lunged the blade forward. I flailed backwards, forcing me to fall back to avoid getting stabbed in the stomach. Once I hit the ground and groaned in pain— was this the 80th time I’ve fallen on my back—I rolled out the way to avoid getting stabbed once more. I tripped her and tried reaching up to the unfrozen handle of the keyblade when I felt her grip on my ankle and she forced me down on the ground. I propped myself up with my elbow as she mirrored me. She wasn’t going to let me lay a hand on my keyblade anytime soon. I have to make up a heck of a plan to do this.

“Why is it that you deny a chance of freedom?” She demanded. She hurled the sword towards the sky and it shattered on impact of the ground. My eyes widen in astonishment at the broken sword and I stared right back at her.

“Why can’t you go back to a world where people are waiting for you? Why choose a world that you’re unfamiliar with then one that you are?” She continued. I looked at her, frowning indifferently. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply before opening her forest green eyes.

“I will not have it! You can’t do this to yourself!”

Flames began to spark to life in her right hand causing me to prop myself to my feet. I cautiously stepped back, raising my fists up in defense. The flames began to take shape, twisting and merging into a bow. It still glowed as if the flames were impended into the wood itself, shining as magnificently as gold. She caught the bow and prepped herself, arching her body as if she was ready to fire. I took a step back, watching carefully as she pulled the silver string back. Going to attack with no arrows, that’s strange. I smirked faintly but it faded when she began to smirk widely. A glow of energy began to form when cold air began to race towards it.

“Blizzara arrow,” She sneered.

An ice arrow formed instantly between the space and she gripped the point very carefully between her fingers. My body grew cold at the sight. You have to be fucking kidding me! I couldn’t believe it as she let go of the arrow and streams of ice followed the arrow. I barely dodged it but then I felt a graze hit my arm and I reached for it, clenching horribly. I glanced at the wound to see it was beginning to freeze up and my eyes widen in horror. I rubbed my arm aggressively to prevent the ice from entering further into my blood system.

Her smirk was vicious, “Now let’s see how you fare on dodging.”

I kept a hand on my injury, hopping onto my feet. I focused my attention to see her pull the string once more, rays of magic emerging as arrows. She released them all and I ducked, rushing towards the ice pillar as several of the arrows collided behind. I shielded my head hearing and feeling the burning intensity of the fire arrows and the ice arrows that began to build the pillar more.

“Why do I have this luck?” I detested. I peered to the side to see my keyblade sticking out but she was directly beside it, still shooting at me. I had to duck back because an arrow had spliced through the ice wall.

“Now how the hell am I going to get there and long enough to actually pull out the keyblade?” I muttered. I pulled out the materia from my pocket and began rubbing it between my fingers. I’m starting to get seriously nervous about this all. I think she actually has a chance to kill me. If only my magic would work. I groaned, shaking my hand to see if any spells would work.

“Fire” Nothing. “Blizzard” Nope, that won’t work either. “Aero! Gravity!” I tightened my grip on the materia and slammed my fist on the wall behind me. “For god sakes! Lightning!” I screamed.

I suddenly felt an electric jolt rush through my veins and concentrated in the palm of my hand. I stared down into my hand to see the materia radiating with electrical power. I blinked once then raised my hand up and over the wall where I saw Hoshi pulling back another arrow.

“Thundara!” I shouted.

The feeling returned to me once more and then a bolt of electricity shot out from the materia. I could see for a split second that Hoshi’s eyes widen in disbelief before I saw the collision of lightning hit the ground. My jaw dropped in amazement. I looked down at the materia before looking back up at the smoke. “HAHA~!” I cried in victory. I rushed over to where my handle was sticking out and gripped tightly onto it. Wow, it really was stuck.

“You little brat!” I gulped loudly and turned my head.

Hoshi appeared from the midst of smoke, shaken but obviously furious. She raised her bow and pulled an arrow from thin air, quite literally when I say that. She released the arrow and it came directly at me. I tugged at the handle harder before I realized the arrow was at my face when it exploded in front of me. The force of wind was like how I imagined an F-1 tornado and it sent me hurdling into the air. WHOAA! Everything is spinning. By the time I had stopped flipping around in the air, I twisted my head to look down at the station. Wow, I never noticed how cool it looks from up here. Wait! Getting back to the main problem. I saw Hoshi holding another arrow but this was large and it was shining brilliantly.

“Oh this isn’t going to end well” I said lowly and held the materia out. “Heaven’s Judgment!” The arrow was let go and heading straight for me. I focused my energy into the materia before I stretched my arms out outwards and closed my eyes.

“THUNDAGA!” I casted and the sound of lightning erupted in my ears. The two collided with each other and created a large explosion. I gritted my teeth, suddenly my feet skid against the ground, unable to resist the blow of the explosion. Next minute I knew, I was hurled into the air. If I keep getting thrown into the air, soon I’ll be landing into the dark abyss of below. I looked at the station to see that Hoshi had pulled another arrow, exactly like the last one and now she wasn’t holding back. She released it and it came at me in blinding speed.

“Thundaga!” But it didn’t come in time. I could feel the arrow cut through the side of my leg causing me to cry out in pain.

Hearing another explosion that brought me back into reality, I forced myself to look down to see that the lightning had hit where ever Hoshi was standing and the ice pillar had been destroyed. My eyes widen and I held my hand out. ‘Come back Heavenly Light!’ I thought pleadingly. In that moment, I felt the handle bar come to my hand and I couldn’t feel any better. Even if I hit the floor really hard. Now I could imagine the pain Roxas felt when he was fighting that Twilight Nobody. I groaned in pain, rolling to my side to see how Hoshi was. She was propping herself up, her bow burning away beside her.

“Where does this strength come from?” I heard her murmur loudly as she knelt up. The dark haired woman looked to me, her gaze growing in anger “How is it that a mere human can posse such strength?!”

I struggled to stand even if my body rejected to get up. My leg was badly torn, I barely could take the moment to even stand. I whimpered at the pain and clenched my teeth, forcing myself to take the stance. I really didn’t want to continue fighting but my heart wanted to.

“I don’t know what to tell ya Hoshi,” I began lowly. I pulled myself to a sturdy stance before slowing, painfully bringing up my keyblade.

“I guess it’s just some damn, stubborn persistence,” I concluded.

Hoshi glared at me and held both her hands out. I raised a brow, raising the keyblade defensively, ready for whatever new move she had planned.

“What the hell?” I muttered.

Two glitters of flames ignited in her hand before razor fans appeared and she readied herself for a fight. My eyes narrowed, trying to figure out where the heck she was obtaining all these weapons from. First an ice sword thingy-mabober, a bow that can use magic arrows, and now razor sharp fans that can probably cut me up into pieces. I seriously hope this is the last thing she pulls from her sleeves because I think that’s all I have up my sleeves. She leapt at me and began to slash relentlessly at me. I ducked swiftly, twirling and sliding across the ground to avoid her vicious dance. I was pulling Avatar Aang tricks on her. I kept dodging even though at one point she had me stuck in the air.

“Aeroga!” She swung her arm out and a wave of air knocked me off my feet, off the station and my eyes widen. I got my keyblade out before I got too far off from the station and slammed the keyblade into it. “Ugh” I waited for the wind to stop before jumping onto the keyblade, balancing myself on it to see Hoshi charging at me. Fuck. I leaped off the keyblade, grabbed it by the handle and swung myself up, pulling it out and managed to block Hoshi’s first strike. The second one though she scratched my cheek.

“Tch” She continued her assault, swirling, striking at me, and jumping over me to try to get the kill strike. Her movements were so swift, lethal, hypnotic, and absolutely undetectable. I swung my keyblade already, deflecting most of her attacks but I think she was beginning to get the upper hand on me. Her swings were beginning to get stronger and stronger by the minute and I could barely deflect them. I was already having an issue with blocking her since she was attacking me with two different weapons! Why does she have to make it harder?! She twirled around, blocking me with both her fans.

“Face it, I’m not going to stop fighting till I die” I snapped at her but she scoffed in response.

Hoshi pushed me off, swinging down her fan onto the keyblade while the other went under it. She knocked it out of my hands sending it hurdling into the air. That is not good. I gasped but the wind was knocked out of my lungs when she kicked me in the gut, forcing me to the ground. I coughed out but as I propped myself up and I noticed she was closing both of her fans.

“This is it” She seethed loudly and suddenly both of them lit on fire. She walked over to me, stomped her foot on my chest to keep me from moving and raised her fans. She was going to strike me down. I gritted my teeth and glared at her.

“Fade to Oblivion!”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-[Kairi’s POV] -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Kairi’s head lifted up when she thought she heard Yuffie yelling in outrage. Aerith told her that maybe she had simply misplaced the materia so Yuffie decided to tear the hotel apart. Frances and Aerith at the moment were trying to calm down the kunoichi. She stared out the window, looking up towards the sky and hoped.

She hoped for Sora to come back safe, so they could go back home with Riku in hands. She hoped that everyone would go back to their respected worlds and the heartless could be vanquished. And she hoped that Frances and Michelle would be reunited and return to their own world as well.

She linked her hands together and looked down, “Please.”

Suddenly she heard a knock on the door that caused her to turn. She looked to see the man known as Leon standing there with an annoyed expression, holding with him Yuffie and Frances who were having an arguing match.

“Mind keeping an eye on these two while I go off to look for Yuffie’s materia?” Leon asked.

Kairi blinked once. She began to understand that Leon was a man of little words but he wasn’t necessary scary. A bit intimidating, but not scary. From what she’s seen, he does have a lot of his shoulders. Kairi nodded slowly as Leon dropped the two girls into the rooms. The two girls whined momentarily before sharing a glance to the tall brunette. His eyes narrowed to the girls, pointing to them.

“Don’t start trouble again.” Leon warned the two ebony teens before he left the room. The room turned deathly silent when the two girls made eye-contact with each other.

“He doesn’t remember her either” Yuffie muttered and crossed her arms stubbornly. Frances mirrored her and made the same pouting face. “I still think he remembers more than me” Frances muttered loudly that caused violet eyes to glance at her. Kairi stared back and forth between Yuffie and Frances and raised a brow.

“What are you two talking about? I thought you guys were arguing over where exactly is the materia?” Kairi asked. Frances and Yuffie looked at the redhead then to each other before shaking their heads.

“Nah, I know Michelle has it that’s for sure but then Frances began wondering if she was the only one who couldn’t remember Michelle so—” She went on to describe how they manage to find out that Merlin, Cid, Huey, Dewey, Louie, and even Pinocchio and Geppetto all had forgotten Michelle but remembered her after a few hours. When they walked up to the brunette, he couldn’t even recall the name. So to see if they could jolt his memory, they began the whole wild materia hunt.

“So Leon’s basically on a wild goose hunt right now…” Kairi rephrased slowly with Yuffie nodding in agreement. Frances sighed and pitched the bridge of her nose.

“I tried telling Yuffie it wasn’t a good idea but she did it anyway, that’s when Leon brought us back here” Frances explained.

Kairi nodded in understandment. Yuffie stood up and stretched. “Well, I’m off to find Aerith. Frances, Kairi, wanna come?” Kairi shook her head and Frances hummed in thought. “Nah, I’ll stay here” Frances decided.

“Suit yourself.” Yuffie trotted out the room and closed the door quietly. Kairi glanced over at Frances who was staring momentarily at the door before glancing over at Kairi.

“Hey, you never told me about your world” Frances began. “What’s it like?” Kairi stopped to think about it. Where would she begin with that. Kairi began telling her that she hadn’t always lived on Destiny Island but told her anyways about most of her life there and how amazing it was. Frances couldn’t help but smile at most of the information she was telling her causing the redhead to raise a brow. “What?” She caught herself asking to the glasses teen.

“You really like Sora don’t you?” Frances grinned when Kairi’s cheeks began to glow red. “N-no! Of course not!” She stammered before muttering more quietly. “He’s my best friend”

Kairi turned her head out the window. “And besides, I think Michelle may like him too—”

Frances stared at Kairi for a moment and for once, instead of that glassy eye look she would get whenever she mentioned her name, she got a clear shocked look from Frances. And then she started laughing. Loud. She clutched her stomach from the pain of laughing and fell over, as she continued in the burst of giggles.

“Sh-She would never like Sora like that. God, if she liked anyone like that then—” Frances couldn’t continue the sentence as she couldn’t contain her giggling fit. Kairi blinked a few times, astonishment at what happened. Though it was a good thing to hear Michelle didn’t like Sora but—“Frances! You remembered Michelle!”

Frances laughter immediately died her throat and her eyes widen. She didn’t breath, move, or make any remark. She slowly sat up and put a hand to her forehead.

“You’re right” Frances said quietly. She looked up at Kairi and her eyes were widening in shock.

“I remember now”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-[Original POV] -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Aww, you’re still conscious unlike the last time.”

My eyes flickered wearily before I could feel the searing sensation run directly at my side and wrist. Why does everything that stabs through me have to do with flames? I clenched my teeth, shutting my eyes from the fierce, intense pain that ran through my right side then my wrist on my left side. I was pinned.

“Do you remember this feeling?” She stomped her boot on my chest causing me to gasp for air and shout in agony. She was glaring down at me, about a foot away from my face with a superior smirk.

“I believe you do remember this. It’s somewhere in you. It’s all back in you,” I glared at her. I couldn’t move. My right arm was being pressed down by her other foot and my left arm was in too much pain to barely even move. She had me pinned down, exactly how she wanted it. She looked down at me sadly before leaning down and grabbing one of her fans. I stared at her carefully, gritting my teeth as I felt her twisting the fan in my wrist.

“Such a shame,” She said sympathetically, “I almost could’ve gotten you home with no scarring.”

That’s when she ripped the fan out causing me to cry out in pain. She looked at me and I couldn’t tell what it was. Did she really feel sorry for me or was she a complete narcissist? I looked around, wondering just where the hell my keyblade went. It wasn’t coming back even if I wanted to. But something caught my eye. A shard of ice from her sword she used was in reach…on my left side. Just my luck. I could see her opening the fan and examining the blood.

“It looks like I win. You’ll have no choice but to accept your fate to return to your world.” Hoshi muttered softly. Huh? She fought me just because of that? I took the time to try to move my arm over to where the ice was. It was within reach, I almost got it. My fingers dug into the ground and I could feel the cold surface at my fingertips.

“This way, your line…won’t end like him…” Him? Is she talking about Sora? Or someone else? I felt the cold touch at the tips of my fingers and I managed to slide it over to me. She closed her fan and it began to glow softly. “But I can’t let you stay awake to witness—” She paused when she saw a strangled smile begin to form on my pained face. She stared at me puzzled, grabbing my collar.

My smile widen and I leaned, “Gotcha,”

I clutched the ice tightly and stabbed it into her leg. She cried out in pain, dropping the fan and stumbled off, hissing at the shard of ice impended in deeply. I grabbed the fan and reached, ripping out the other from my side. I screamed, clenching my teeth and rolled, unable to handle the pain. Oh god, it had to be done though. I had both of the fans in my hand. Opening them up, I knew this was it, my blood stained the metal showing her reflection. Time for some cruel payback.

I took a stance, shaking mildly as I turned, my eyes dilated at the sight. She was still struggling to remove the shard from her leg, finding it shattering bit by bit every time she tried to force it out. I charged forward and began the first several strikes. Hoshi finally ripped out the dagger of ice and intended on blocking me but it wouldn’t last. She wasn’t focused, she was still in shock. I slashed at her arm, spinning dangerously as the fans made the attempt of hitting the dodging dark-haired girl. I bashed her three times before kicking her in the gut and hitting her into the air. I leaped after her and held the fans close. I threw those fans, stabbing into her arms before I summoned my keyblade, whirling it behind me and prepared for the final hit. “It’s over!” I shouted and slammed the keyblade against her body.

“How can it be?” I heard her mutter softly.

I hit the ground with a roll, the two fans clattering to the side while I groaned loudly in pain. I can’t keep expecting to do that without pain in the end!! I looked over to see Hoshi lying on her back and see that she was panting as hard as I was. Her fans disappeared in a fleck of light and I knew it was over, or I really hoped it was over.

“N-Not yet” My eyes widen at seeing that Hoshi was propping herself up, shakily but she was still doing it. I tried to stand up but this time my body refused. I was stuck in a kneeling possession so I rose up my fists in defense.

“I won’t—I won’t let you throw away your life like he did!” She expelled wildly. Her body shook as she held her hand out. A ball of light began to form and my eyes widen. WAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIT! HOW IS SHE NOT DEAD?

I gritted my teeth, heaving violently when she released the holy spell. I held my arms over my body, preparing for the ending spell. I was done for.

“Open your damn eyes, Michelle.”

I snapped my eyes open to see Juliana in front of me, using my keyblade to block off Hoshi’s attack. She easily flicked the light spell off, the spell exploded off into the distance. I stared at the remnant of the explosion before looking back towards Juliana. She held the keyblade in a manner much smoother than her own rod. So that’s where my keyblade went! Wait, she can hold and use the keyblade. Wait—that means! That’s when my attention moved to Hoshi, finding the woman kneeling on the ground, her eyes widen in disbelief. It then grew furious as she slammed a fist onto the ground, pointing a shaky finger to Juliana.

“You! You’re the one who left years ago, aren’t you?” Hoshi demanded. Juliana turned, smiling and winked at my direction before looking back to Hoshi.

“Aww, you remember me!” She exclaimed brightly.

Now Hoshi and Juliana know each other. When will my life not be confusing? Juliana looked behind and her steel eyes examined me. “Are you okay?” She demanded softly. I gave a quick nod and she smiled before looking back at Hoshi. She walked over to her and bent down to her height and whispered something to her. Well whatever she said caused Hoshi’s eyes to widen in accusation. Juliana raised her hands in defense.

“Don’t look at me, it seems you’re a bit too late is all,” Juliana told her innocently though she couldn’t hide her smile. Hoshi’s crestfallen expression remained as Juliana walked away from her. I blinked wearily before Juliana knelt down before me, brushing her hands down my arms.

“Wow, you got pretty banged up” She observed. I faintly smiled but was distracted by the keyblade in her hand. She blinked once before looking down. “Oh sorry, the thing sort of came out of nowhere so I decided to use it,” She explained, rubbing the back of her head and smiling like a little child.

“You….you’re…” I began. “A keyblade wielder?” Juliana finished. I merely looked at her as she rested the keyblade within my palm.

“I might have left that part out,” She noted.

“I thought you said I was on my own!” I pointed out. Juliana smirked and shook her head.

“You’re lucky I came when I did or else you’d be dead.” She retorted and began walking off. She snapped her fingers, chains forming around her before raising into the air. It began to form into a metallic door. She flicked her wrist and the doors opened. Juliana turned, smirking once as she held a two finger salute.

“Good luck Michelle, you have a whole new chapter ahead of you.” She said softly. I noticed my vision beginning to blur as the tears began to wield up. Why was I suddenly so sad?

I forced myself to smile, “Thank you Juliana.” She smiled and walked through the door.

It closed up and faded away into sparks. Then I focused my attention to Hoshi. Hoshi was hunched over, clearly infuriated by what had gone on. I kind of felt…bad for her. Sure, she made my time here a living hell, killed me once, and tried doing so a second time but I feel like there was some backstory she wasn’t telling me about her actions.

“So who’s he?”

She raised her head and looked at me with dead expression. She looked back down and closed her eyes. “My brother” I blinked a few times while she rubbed her arm. “My brother was a keyblader for the world once.”

Excuse me?

I raised a brow, tilting my head trying to figure out how that was possible. Unless she meant in this world. He ended up in this world as she did.

“This universe…it is strange…it felt unholy. He tried to make it normal, he was the only thing that felt normal to me,” She crumpled, resting her forehead against the ground. “But then he died, never to appear again. So I hoped to see him after death but even then, he was not there—” She stiffened and hugged herself tightly, “Dying here is like forsaking yourself to eternal damnation! You’ll never have a final resting!”

I stared at her in utter shock. Keybladers don’t have peace in the end? Oh…well…that’s depressing to hear. She shook faintly and I could see her staring at the ground.

“So is that why…you were trying to get me back home?” I asked. “So I didn’t have to suffer the same fate?”

“This world, no one gets a sense of peace after death. How is it that you can unite with your loved one when rage, hatred, and darkness possess your heart and make you do unthinkable things to the very ones you love?” Her voice became quiet.

A few moments in silence and suddenly I realized why she stopped. The darkness swept away around me, the station began to break away piece by piece into luminous petals. It seemed like golden crystal shards were floating back into the everlasting darkness. It was breathtaking.

“You were like him, my brother.”

I turned back to her, finding her smiling wearily towards me. “That’s why I fought so hard…you look a lot like him.” I raised a brow and stared at her. I look like him. I swallowed roughly as I took a step back. She began to rise to her feet, the façade on her beginning to melt away to the ground below. My eyes widen slightly at the change of appearance, but I was more focused on her words.

“My brother was 30 when he was killed. Married and father of three before we came to this world—” Wait…is she trying to say that—“You are a part of his bloodline”

My relative.

She’s…my relative…..by some god way we are related. Yet she tried to kill me. Nice way to show some family love. “So you’re saying I’m a descendent of your brother?” I asked to make sure I got it. She nodded. I stared at Hoshi with renewed acknowledgement. I get it now, now I know why she wanted me to stay home. I shook my head and laughed lightly. No wonder she kept saying that she was me! I’m a descendent! Now that’s just kind of weird…I’m seriously going to need therapy after this. Hoshi now stood with a small frown on her face, her eyes gazing to the floor below as it broke away.

“Hoshi,” I began but she held up a hand in opposition. Her light brown hair covered her face but i could see her golden brown eyes looking down in regret. “Are you really willing to give it up the chance?” She asked quietly.

I nodded and I could hear her sigh. She brought a hand to her face and rubbed it. “Go, help your friends” She lifted her head and I could see the shine of tears threatening to fall. “Save the worlds”

And like a blessing, I felt free. My chains had been cut and I felt everything return to me; my magic, my strength, my memories, everything. I looked down at my hand to see the Heavenly Light keyblade glow brighter than usual before I decided to let it disappear.

The floor below had begun to disappear and I was beginning to feel a tug on me. I was being pulled back. But I had to ask one more thing, just one.

“Hoshi—”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-[Transition] -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The darkness melted away, and I was back in Traverse Town once more. I had to blink a few times to make sure that this was the real deal but I knew it was. It was the exact spot I had left from, right in front of the Dalmatian door.

I clutched my side tightly, hoping the pain would stop soon but it burned still. I then focused on the wound on my arm, seeing how the spot was growing a dark, sickening purple. I blinked wearily, feeling absolutely drained of my magic. I couldn’t tell what time it was. It looked like the sun was already beginning to set at this point. I blinked wearily, rubbing my face and took a step forward. I wearily began to head forward, limping in pain. Unexpectedly, I heard a loud shout of pain causing my attention to dart ahead.

A heartless was sent flying from the Waterway, instantly destroyed with the heart floating up in the air. I blinked once more, stopping once I found who had done it. Brown haired was mopped over his lean face, his entire body drenched to the bone. His gunblade remained firmly in his grasp as Leon wiped his face, groaning.

I blinked wearily, taking another limp step forward. “L-Leon?” I questioned, raising a brow. The male turned abruptly, his sword raised firmly in defense. Though the minute he caught my face, he relaxed his stance. Before I could ask anything else, pain shot through me like lightning and my knees gave out. I fell to the floor and notice my vision was darkening.

“Hey! Michelle!”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-[Kairi’s POV] -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Frances had finished telling her about her world when she heard Leon yelling orders. She heard Yuffie shout out in disbelief. Frances went to open the door but paused. “M-Michelle?!” She gasped loudly and took a step back. “Aerith! You have to heal her quick!” Yuffie said loudly.

“What happened?!” Kairi rushed over to Frances and looked. She could see Michelle being held by Leon and Aerith assisting them into a room. Kairi gasped. “I’ll take care of it from here” Aerith exclaimed and she closed the door behind her. Leon sighed heavily.

Yuffie looked over at him and raised a brow. “Why are you all wet?” He shot her a glare and pulled out her yellow materia. “It was in the Waterway” He said annoyingly. Yuffie snatched it out of his hands and smiled in joy. “Thank you!” She tackled the brunette in a hug much to his annoyance.

“What happened to Michelle?!” The two turned and looked at Frances. Leon frowned and glanced at the door. “I don’t know, I found her like that outside the hotel once I came back from the Waterway.” Leon sighed, pitching the bridge of his nose.

“But she’ll be okay, Aerith is the best healer we know. She’ll fix her up in a jiff” Yuffie told her.

Kairi and Frances exchanged glances and smiled. It was a few hours later when finally they were told she had finally woken up. Though Leon was holding back Yuffie from running in there and tackling her. She needed some time to rest.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-[Original POV] -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Are you okay?”

The world continued to ring, even after placing the heating pad on my head and flinched. It was too noisy, too bright, it was a miracle I was even conscious right now. Aerith is a miracle worker I’ll tell ya. She managed to seal the wounds from fire attacks and stitched up the one from my arm that began freezing it. That was the actually reason I passed out. The ice basically ended up resulting in hyperthermia, nearly causing my blood vessels to shrink and stop the flow of blood in my body. Thank the universe for Aerith’s existence.

“Yeah, I think so” I exclaimed.

I rolled both my shoulders, slightly, feeling soreness but it was nothing like the intense pain I felt before. My waist hurts a little but I could get over that. Aerith smiled approvingly, wrapping my arm from where the arrow grazed with gauze, placing an ‘Aerith-Special’ elixir ointment along the cut before sealing it. From what she said, it would’ve help heal the wound in a matter of two days. I smiled in appreciation once she was finished up with me, heading to the bathroom to wash her hands. I rested my head back on the bed, sighing in relief. That was really close. Thank God Leon came when he did too. I need to hug him when I get a chance. By the time Aerith came back, I had attempted to sit up….failing miserably. I grimaced as Aerith walked over, leaning over to stare at me.

“Where were you Michelle?” She demanded, “You were gone for nearly the entire day! You had everyone worried!”

………WHAT!?

“Huh?!” I blinked a few times, trying to process what she had said. I was gone for that long?! It felt so much longer. She nodded and I shrugged.

“Let’s say you wouldn’t believe me if I even tried explaining it” I told her. Aerith smiled, pulling a chair closer to the bed and rested her chin upon her folded hands. “Try me”

So I did. For some reason, it was relieving to tell someone about everything that happened and my actual world though I tried not mentioning the whole she’s from a video game series. That would be awkward. I explained to her Hoshi, all the strange occurrences, mentioning how I saw someone that seemed like me with my friends. I explained my strange illness which prompted her to do a double check on me, concluding that whatever was harming me seemed to have been gone…or something even she couldn’t detect. Then that’s when she began to tell me how strangely while I was gone, everyone forgot about me. As if the very idea of me was wiped away. I was pretty shocked by her claim and only assumed that when I defeated Hoshi in battle, my place in this realm was set in stone. I scratched my neck as Aerith nodded on my hypothesis.

“I see, it’s very plausible that was the reason why.” Aerith hummed. I nodded slowly, grunting as I began to sit up properly, exhaling in relief once I managed to successfully do it. I mean sure, a leg was sticking out of the bed but who was going to call foul-play. Wait. If nobody remembered me—

“Aerith,” I whispered, almost fearfully. “Yes?”

“Did Sora, Donald, and Goofy leave?” She blinked once before nodding. I stared at her, my eyes widening as I darted my attention out the window, now noticing how dark it was. Oh god, it it was a day! They’re probably about to hit the castle right now!

“I need to go!” I swung my other leg out of the bed, somehow throwing myself to a stand. Aerith hurriedly stood up and attempted to persuade me otherwise as I pulled on my jeans, collecting a new shirt that they had provided me, and throwing on my trusty sneakers.

“Michelle! You can’t be serious?!” I heard Aerith protest but I ignored her. “Oh when I get my hands on them, Donald’s first to get hit!” I threw open the door only to smack into a ‘wall’. I groaned, rubbing my nose as I peered up to find the proud lion standing guard by the door. He turned, raising a brow as exhaled heavily. Well crap.

“Michelle.” Leon turned fully, now acting as the impenetrable wall for my escape out of the room.

“Nice to see you too Leon” I muttered quietly. His eyes narrowed and I blushed in embarrassment, feeling his judging stare already passing on me. “Where do you think you’re going like that?” He demanded, crossing his arms. I crossed my arms as well, though it hurt me to do it. I huffed and stood tall, meeting his gaze.

“I have to go to Hollow Bastion and go back with Sora, Donald, and Goofy” I told him.

“Absolutely not” Leon retorted and my eyes widen. My shoulders slacked immediately and I spread my hands to my sides. “Leon come on! I have to go help them! I’m not going to stick around and watch them on the sidelines!” I told him loudly.

“But Michelle! You can’t go alone especially with your injuries!” Aerith rested her hand tenderly on my shoulder. I looked over to her, my lips trembling and I shook my head. “I can’t—I can’t leave my friends behind like that.” I insisted wearily. I wanted to walk past Leon but he blocked the doorway further with his arm. It was a tense moment of silence before I looked back at him only to look down, knowing there was no way around this.

“You’re not going by yourself” He repeated lowly. “Especially since Cid won’t let you borrow a gummi ship unless you’re with one of us”

“Huh?” I blinked a few times while I heard Yuffie run over. “Wait! Are you saying we’re going to Hollow Bastion?!” Yuffie demanded. Leon glanced to her before looking at me and Aerith and nodding. “Are you sure?” Aerith asked but Leon nodded once more.

“It’s about time we paid a visit” He exclaimed.

“Might as well take Michelle along with us while we’re there” My eyes widen in delight and I grinned brightly. “YES!” I could see Yuffie was freaking out in astonishment while Leon ordered her to tell Cid to get a ship ready for us. Aerith still seemed skeptical about it though. I guess healing for like 3 hours isn’t enough for her. Leon left the door opened and walked down the hall along with Aerith and then I saw Frances staring at me with wide eyes along with Kairi. I smiled nervously and waved.

“Hi”

“YOU IDIOT!” First thing I get back is a punch to the head. Nice. “OW!” I cringed, holding my head.

“That hurt!”

“It better have!” She retorted, glaring at me. “You had me worry sick! I thought I told you to be careful and you go off, disappear, and then come back bloody!” I pouted and crossed my arms. “It isn’t my fault!” I tried denying but I couldn’t. Frances frowned and was about to shout at me again when Kairi came to the rescue.

“It’s good to see that you’re okay Michelle” She exclaimed.

I smiled and rubbed the back of my head. “I guess I really had everyone worried huh?” I acknowledged and snickered when Frances glared at me again. Kairi smiled but then it somewhat faded. “You’re going back to help Sora?” I looked at her and nodded.

“I have to. I’m not about to leave my friends behind over some silly wounds I got,” I smiled faintly, “We’ve been to through a lot, I’m going to stick with them till the end, and that’s a promise.” I finished and looked out the window. Kairi smiled along with Frances.

“Then you better be sure to be all right! I’m expecting to see you and Sora come back!” Kairi exclaimed and Frances gave an agreeable nod. “And if you don’t, I’ll be sure to reap you back from wherever you went” Frances threatened.

I’ll take that very seriously.

“Michelle! Come on!” I heard Yuffie yelling from outside and I looked to the two girls. They smiled and I returned the smile. I saluted briefly, promising Kairi I’ll give her boy safe causing the said red-head to blush mildly. I rushed out the hotel and headed for the First District.

“Just you wait you guys!” I began loudly. “I’m coming!”


	26. The Journey Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, life got a little hectic with my dog unfortunately so my writing had to be put on a hold. But here's the next chapter. I think there will only be three-four chapters left now! I hope you enjoyed this story so far! Enjoy everyone! Thanks for reading!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-[Sora’s POV]-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Sora, please hurry! Darkness is pouring from the Keyhole. Seal the keyhole!”

The trio had managed to return to Hollow Bastion, the Gummi ship rather equipped to handle the massive army of Heartless ships that awaited them. Once back in the Castle, the trio reunited with Beast, having found that he was also together again with Belle. They teamed up for a majority of the time till they reached the room where they had fought Maleficent in. It was now filled with the remaining princesses, all who had been awaken from their slumber. Sora was relieved to see they were all right but was disturbed about the news of Ansem. It seemed by the last accounts from the princesses, he had fallen into the pool of darkness that expelled from the portal opening. Yet he was smiling—now that’s really creepy.

 “It’s all we can do just to hold back the darkness,” Alice said, clapping her hands together, “I don’t know how long we can manage even that.”

Sora shared a glance with Donald and Goofy, nodding and turned to the five princesses in the room. “All right, we’re on our way to handle it.” Sora reassured.

One of the princesses, Cinderella smiled, “We’re counting on you, Keyblade master. In the meantime, we’ll do what we can, too.”

Sora nodded but before they could leave, Aurora took a step forward, her head tilted.  “I’m sorry to stop you but isn’t there supposed to be another wielder in your group?”  She asked curiously.

Sora blinked. Another wielder of the keyblade? 

“N—" Donald was about to say when suddenly he shut his mouth, his eyes widening. Goofy rubbed his head when suddenly he had a similar look as Donald. Sora blinked and thought about it. Was there supposed to be someone else? Wait. What was this sudden feeling of sadness?

“Oh not again! We are missing someone!” Donald grumbled loudly, crossing his arms firmly and tapped his foot against the ground. Jasmine and Alice shared glances when their eyes widen, turning to look at the trio.

“Oh you’re right! Where is she?” Alice asked, looking between Donald and Goofy.

They both shrugged, scratching their heads and murmured quietly about where the heck _she_ could be. Sora rubbed his head. ‘Who are they all talking about?’ Sora thought in annoyance. Ready to ask about who they were referring to, a mighty roar caused everyone to turn to the direction of the Grand Hall, where the six princesses of hearts were once held. Now the portal that lead to the world’s keyhole is what remains.  

“Come on guys, we’ll figure this out later,” Sora insisted. Donald and Goofy shared glances, looking a bit guilty about the action but nodded in agreement. The trio began to move out of the room, the princesses waving them off and wishing them luck in their battle to come.

“Boy, Michelle’s going to be mad when she comes back,” Goofy acknowledged with Donald grumbling in agreement, pulling his staff out.  Sora’s eyes widen, finally understand and remembering everything. Oh boy. That couldn’t be any truer.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-[Original POV]-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Cid, can this ship go any faster?!”

"Sit your ass down in that chair and DRINK YOUR GODDAMN TEA!" The only response Yuffie was able to give was the sound of holding back from gagging. Ugh, no, that’s gross. Don’t get sick on the small airship, there’s nowhere to run. I grimaced while Yuffie clutched to the chair, her tea cup sliding down the counter. Aerith simply caught it without batting an eye and offered her the tea again. I glanced over to Leon who was pitching the bridge of his nose.

“Is this how she always is?” I questioned wearily. He shook his head and I raised a brow.

“She’s actually worse,” Leon corrected while Aerith turned her head to him, giving him a ‘don’t start it’ look.

Leon shrugged absentmindedly, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. We’re on the gummi ship right now, traveling to Hollow Bastion. So far, we haven’t hit anything. Either that or Cid had this ship so loaded with weapons that it was invincible. Cid was able to handle the ship single-handily while Leon acted as his back up if he needed it. Aerith kept examining me to make sure nothing was wrong but I kept reassuring her I would be fine.  With the ruckus of Yuffie and Cid having a barking match, I was seriously going to faint from the massive headache. I could only wonder how Aerith could stay so level-minded about this.

“Sora, Donald, and Goofy must be pretty far into Hollow Bastion by now,” I muttered and crossed my arms, “I wonder if they’re okay”

“Don’t worry.” Aerith smiled warmly, patting my arm gently. “They’re probably handling themselves fairly well.”

I cracked my fist knuckles and looked out the window. Stars passed by like a blur in the ship, it’s always been like that. For the first time in a while I could see them clearly. I leaned back in my chair, sighing softly as Cid grunted softly, cursing to himself. It was a few hours before finally something happened. sat for a moment while Aerith and Leon silently stood up.

“Is...Is that?” Yuffie began but she stopped herself from finishing the sentence. I heard Leon growl faintly while Aerith gasped.

“We’re here?” I asked. I stood up and faced the window. Yup, we were here. “What the hell…” Cid muttered. “So this is what happened…”

I looked seeing Cid put a hand to his forehead and shaking it slightly. I frowned and looked away. This must be painful for them. This was their world, their home, and they were forced to flee several years ago! Now they come back to see it like this. I could only imagine how bad this could be for them. Without a word, Cid landed the ship near the castle so we didn’t have to bother jumping through rocks.

“Cid, stay with the ship, we’ll be back” Leon ordered. “Hey, you don’t need to tell me twice, I need to fix this ship up,” Cid called out.  I leaped off with Yuffie and Aerith and we looked up.

“The heartless really destroyed it” Yuffie muttered angrily, her hand turning into a fist. Aerith put a hand on a shoulder, giving her a sadden look. Leon was the last one to jump out the gummi ship. His gunblade was resting on his shoulders and he looked at all of us.

“All right, let’s get going” He then looked at me. Wait, why me?! “You should lead the way” Leon suggested.  

My eyes widen but I quickly nodded in agreement. I’m not saying no to him. Turning towards the large pair of doors, I held my hand out and felt my keyblade come to hand. It was my Bleeding Hearts keyblade, my first, my own. Please guide me to my friends. I noticed it glowed faintly and I could feel a small smile form on my face. “All right.”

“Let’s go,”

Yuffie and Aerith nodded in agreement and we all began to run towards the Entrance Hall.  And god, this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought it would be. The heartless were there waiting and they were stronger than I expected them to be. Everyone got ready for a fight though. Yuffie was basically using her materia’s to kick butt while Leon was basically using Blasting Zone to kick their butts. Aerith was healing us most of the time but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t fighting. She actually had my back whenever a heartless would try and get me when I wasn’t looking.

“Thanks!” I said and she gave me a smile. “Thunder!” The last remaining heartless was taken out and I gave a sigh in relief. “Let’s keep moving” Leon insisted and we all nodded in agreement.

“Wait”

Huh? I turned my head and looked over to the door to see Belle. HEY! BELLE! You’re okay! That’s good to know.

“You’re Michelle right?” She asked, tilting her head slightly. I nodded. “Yes?”

“Do you need to catch up to your friends? There’s a secret passage here in the library” She explained, gesturing her hand towards the library. I blinked a few times while Yuffie took the offer gladly.

“Yeah! That’ll help a lot!” Yuffie and I rushed up the stairs while Aerith and Leon walked. We all entered the library and Aerith looked around in awe.

“Wow, I never would’ve guessed there was this many books…” She exclaimed and I looked over to her. “Haven’t you been here before?” I asked but she shook her head. Leon crossed his arms and looked over to me.

“We lived in the town residing near the castle. We weren’t permitted to enter the castle unless requested. The one that owned this large castle was our leader, Ansem the Wise.” Leon told me and I blinked a few times. Ansem the Wise? Oh yeah…Kingdom Hearts 2. Well, I suppose I’ll play it dumb for a little longer. That still sounds interesting though, they remembered all of this.

“We never really even cared about going there anyways.” Yuffie admitted, swinging her arms back and forth as we headed up the stairs.

 “You were only 7, of course you wouldn’t care.” Leon muttered, smirking that caused Yuffie to glare at him. “So! You were only 16! They wouldn’t let teenagers running around in there” She snapped back angrily causing Leon to roll his eyes.

I looked to Aerith for help as Yuffie and Leon began arguing about the reasons why they weren’t allowed into the castle. Aerith meekly gave me a smile but then Belle came to the rescue. She placed a book into a shelf and suddenly the shelf moved back and revealed a passageway.

“So where does it go?” I asked her and she put a finger to her chin. “I believe it heads up to the High Tower” She answered with an affirmative nod.

I grinned brightly, scratching my cheek. All right! I don’t have to sprint like I was originally planning onto! I like it when my plans change. Sometimes, it’s for the better. I punched forward, grinning wildly, “All right then let’s go!”

Yuffie was already way head of me, calling out for us to catch up. I pouted, taking off after to her into the darkness of the secret passage. Well…it really wasn’t dark since candles were on in the hall but let’s ignore that fact for now. At this point, Leon told Yuffie and me to stop running, just in case if there were any traps or heartless lurking around. Yuffie had scoffed at his suggestion, waving a hand back at him.

“Oh relax Squall,” Yuffie said nonchalantly. Suddenly the floor underneath her disappeared and my eyes widen. “YUFFIE!” I dove to the ground and caught her hand before she fell. “WHOA!” She’s heavy! I’m being pulled in too!  But before that could even happen Leon caught me by my collar and Yuffie glanced up, laughing nervously.

“I TOLD YOU!”  Leon snapped. Ack! Can’t breathe!

“Le-Leon, let go of my collar!” I choked out and I heard Leon sigh. He let go and quickly knelt down grabbing Yuffie’s other hand. Slowly we brought her back up and I glared at the still laughing nervously ninja.

“And _don’t_ call me Squall.” Leon told her lowly in which she grinned for a response. “Thanks for that _Leon._ ” She began walking cautiously along the wall now, even when she passed the part of the floor that disappeared. Leon, still frowning, followed suit while I waited and looked over to Aerith.

“I sometimes wonder how you can manage,” I admitted and she smiled softly. Then her expression changed to one more of official stance. “Michelle. Remember when you asked about what is special about your keyblade?” She asked. I stared at her for a moment before nodding. Weird to bring that up now. 

“From what you’ve told me so far, it sounds similar to the blade that Riku had used.” She said.

“What?!” I asked, completely caught off guard. Huh?! Wait, what?! The Key to People’s Hearts keyblade?!  She caught on to my hysteria moment and waved her hands in front of her.

“No, no, no! They’re not the same!” She told me quickly. Huh? Well that’s a relief to hear. “Actually, they’re opposite,”

“Opposite?” I repeated and she nodded. “Now this is only a hunch but I think yours heals and closes the hearts. Maybe giving them a final resting or return them to their original hearts” Aerith said. I bit my lip and looked at my hands.

“When Sora saved Kairi, you said your keyblade reacted?” She questioned and I nodded. “Yeah, it shot a light to them, but it wasn’t like Sora’s light, it was a silver” I said. She smiled a bit.

“You see…..I think you helped Sora come back. Maybe that’s what your keyblade does.” She suggested.  I looked to my keyblade, with new thoughts and interest to it. Can it really do something like that?

“HEEY!” My thoughts were interrupted and I turned to see that Aerith had already crossed and she was waving for me to come over.  Wow, she is fast. I looked at my hands one moment then then gap and then I smiled.

“YAAA!” Leon and Yuffie looked back seeing Aerith jump in shock. “MICHELLE!” She glared at me when I luckily landed right in front of her. Phew, and I thought I was about to fall back.

“We got no time to wait! Come on!” Yuffie shouted, her voice echoing off the walls. I nodded and looked to Aerith. She nodded and we both ran after the two.

After sprinting down the dark tunnel, I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

“We’re here! Finally” FRESH AIR!  Ahh, it feels good to be outside again. Yuffie ran over to a ledge and peered over and whistled at the sight. “Whoa, there’s nothing but clouds down there” Yuffie muttered. “We must be pretty high up”

As she and Aerith looked down, I got this bad feeling. It was that same, dark sinister one when we ran away from Ansem and the heartless. It made the hairs on my neck stand up and I shivered. “Is everything all right?” I looked over at Leon and shrugged.

 “I don’t know” I admitted and crossed my arms.

I bit my lip before looking back at Leon. “Leon” I called out and he turned. “I need to go ahead! I-I just got this bad feeling that they’re going to need my help now” I explained nervously. Leon blinked once before nodding. “Go on, we’ll catch up” Leon told me and I smiled brightly.

“Thanks!”

I turned on my heels and began running. I sprinted through the lift shop, striking down any heartless that came in my way. “Do you honestly think after everything I had gone through, you think you’re going to beat me?!” I snapped when the heartless with the lion’s shield tried blocking me off. I thrust my right hand out, the keyblade appeared and I recoiled my arm back.

“Fire Raid!” The keyblade lit on fire and I tossed it directly at the heartless. Cut it down with one move. I smirked and caught the keyblade. I continued running, the dark feeling growing every step I was taking. Finally, I pushed open a door, heavily panting. Even though I’m motivated to get to them, I still can’t run fast continuously. “Oh! Michelle!”

“Huh?” I looked up and my eyes widen. All five princesses were here in this room, staring at me currently. But two of the princesses had smiles etched on their faces and I returned the smile. “Jasmine! Alice! You’re okay!” I greeted warmly.

The two rushed over to me and gave me a quick hug. “Michelle! You have to go help Sora!” Jasmine exclaimed. “The darkness is getting stronger by the minute; we need to seal the keyhole fast”

I nodded and gave a thumbs up. “No problem, just hang on everybody. Sora will lock up the keyhole soon enough” I told them. Cinderella stepped forward and smiled at me. “Then you must make haste.” She turned her head looking towards the wall that Donald, Mushu, and I found.

I nodded and walked past them all before breaking out in a jog. Going through the final lift, shop I entered the Grand Hall. Now the sense of darkness was unbelievably strong here. I thought I was going to start choking on the stuff. I looked over to see the keyhole gate was still opened. They still haven’t beaten the heartless yet. Well, couldn’t blame them, it was a freaking Behemoth! That thing was huge!!! I gulped, feeling anxious and a little agitated at the moment. Well here’s the moment of truth huh? Walking up the stairs, I could only watch my feet go on each one. My heart began racing when I felt the darkness get stronger. I could feel the hairs on my neck stand up and that crazy feeling something bad was happening.

“Well…” I looked into the dark gate to the keyhole and gulped loudly. I held my hand out and my keyblade appeared. Switching it to my Angelic Light keyblade, I readied myself. A loud roar caused me to jump. I gritted my teeth and charged forward.

“HERE GOES NOTHING!”

Running inside, I was greeted with yelling, roars, and the weird discolored features of the battle field. And also, a huge freaking purple heartless behemoth was charging up its next attack. Donald’s tail was on fire, Goofy was helping him put it out and Sora was charging up the heartless’s back to attack the head.

“This looks strangely familiar.” I muttered before running forward. “Let’s try something new!” I leaped up; moving my arm back and I could feel the electricity charging up inside me. “Thunder Raid!”

My keyblade whipped around in the air, electricity coating the whole thing. Sora was thrown off before it hit the horns of the heartless and electrocuted the whole heartless. The heartless roared in pain and stopped charging its attack. I grinned brightly and landed back on the ground.

“Oh yeah! Score one for Michelle!” I cheered, punching the air.

“Michelle?!”

I blinked and looked at the three. Mixed stares of ‘How the heck did I get here’ and ‘you’re back!’ were what greeted me. I smirked and caught my keyblade. I walked over to them and held out a hand to Sora who was getting up.  “Need help?” I asked. Sora looked at it before smiling and grabbed my hand.

Pulling him up to a stand, we all looked at the behemoth who was still twitching violently from the thunder attack. “Now let’s beat this thing!” Sora exclaimed and we all nodded. “Right!”

“Thundaga!” Donald casted and the powerful lightning spell made a direct hit. I charged forward along with Sora and leaped onto the beasts back. Donald and Goofy were distracting it so we didn’t get thrown off. Suddenly the heartless roared causing lightning to strike everywhere.

Sora began striking the horns, the weakness of the heartless. I was combo’ing with magic before the behemoth began violently shaking its head. “Whoa!” I held on to the horns that were there and then looked to the smaller horn. I took the keyblade and started hitting it wildly.

Sora smacked the keyblade against it and it cracked more. I leaped off the behemoth and landed next to Donald and Goofy. “Three more direct hits and that’ll do it!” I informed them loudly.  “Thundaga!” Donald and Sora yelled. Lightning blasted the horns and the heartless roared out in pain.

I threw my keyblade at the horn and it slashed at it once, then like the boomerang it came back hitting it twice.

“We need to hit it one more time!” Donald yelled. Then Sora jumped into the air, grabbed my keyblade, then threw both his and mine at the horn, slashing it twice, then like a boomerang they swung back slashing the heartless. FINAL HIT! All right! :D

It then roared in agony again and disappeared, leaving a huge pink heart to float away. I caught the keyblade and looked to Sora who landed back on the ground.

“Alright!” We both said, giving a high five to each other. I grinned brightly and then suddenly felt a tackle of a hug. “You’re back Hyuck!” Goofy greeted then suddenly I got a hug from Donald and Sora. “I can’t breathe!” I choked out and began laughing along with the others.  Finally they let go and I could breathe. Awww! ^,___,^ they missed me!

“Hyuck now let’s go and seal that big Keyhole!” Goofy said after the little reunion.

Sora prepared to lock the keyhole but something distracted him. “Sora you did it” A voice said. “Was that…….Leon?” Sora asked.  They finally caught up! I followed in suit as Sora decided to exit the gate.

And there they were. Yuffie and Aerith waved while Leon had his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

“What are you guys doing here?” Sora asked, looking at the three in disbelief. “We came in Cid’s ship.” Yuffie told him. “This is our childhood home. We wanted to see it again.” Aerith said. Sora’s smile faded slightly and he frowned sadly.

“It’s in worse shape than I feared. It used to be so peaceful…..” Leon said. “Don’t worry. If we defeat Ansem, all should be restored. Including your island, and possibly your world” Aerith said looking to Sora then to me. “Really?” Yuffie frowned at that point and sat on the rail.

 “But, it also means goodbye.” Yuffie exclaimed sadly. “Good bye?” Sora repeated and Aerith’s green orbs softened. “Once the worlds are restored, they’ll all be separate again.” Aerith explained. “Everyone will go back to where they came from.” Yuffie said and lowered her head.

“Then I’ll visit you guys with the gummi ship.” Sora said optimistically but Leon shook his head. “It’s not that simple.” Leon interjected.

“Before all this, you didn’t know about the other worlds, right?” Yuffie said. Sora nodded. “Because every world was isolated. Impassable walls divided them.” Aerith said.

 “The Heartless destroyed those walls.  But if the worlds return, so will the walls.” Yuffie trailed off in the sentence and I sighed loudly. “Making the gummi ships useless” I said quietly. “Exactly.” Leon said. “So you’re saying we’ll never…...” Sora asked. We all hanged our heads low a bit and Sora sighed.

“We may never meet again, but we’ll never forget each other.” Leon said. I blinked and looked at him.

“No matter where we are, our hearts will bring us together again.” Aerith said. “Besides, I couldn’t forget either of you even if I wanted to.” Yuffie admitted bluntly. Aww—hey wait!

“HEY!” I yelled and Yuffie stuck her tongue out playfully. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Sora asked in agreement. “Sora!” Donald yelled. “Hurry! Come and close the Keyhole!” Goofy said waving his hands around. Sora looked back to them then to Leon and the gang.

“Sora, Michelle, good luck.” Leon said and Sora smiled. He ran back to the gate while I stayed behind. I turned back to them and smiled. “Thanks Leon, Aerith, Yuffie.” I thanked each of them before running back to join my friends.  

I walked to see the keyhole outlined in the wall. Sora pointed his keyblade it, sending a beam of light to it. It shattered the purple glow and made a lock noise. Then the keyhole disappeared into thin air. “Yes! It’s finally locked!” Donald said. Sora turned and nodded. “We better check on the princesses” I said.

By the time we left the gate, Leon’s gang had left and we entered the Castle Chapel with all the five princesses smiling and waiting for us. 

“Thank you, Sora. I think the darkness has begun to weaken.” Alice said brightly but Jasmine shook her head. She put a hand to her chest. “But I can feel a powerful darkness growing somewhere far away.” Jasmine informed us.

 “It’s the heart of the darkness. It must be where Ansem went.” Aurora guessed, putting a hand to her chin and looked deep in thought. “Then we’ll take the gummi ship and deal with both Ansem and the Heartless.” Sora said.

Cinderella smiled and put her hands together in front of her. “A worthy answer, Keyblade master.” Cinderella said.

 “Michelle, Sora, Donald, Goofy, your courage can bring back our worlds.” Snow White said.

“Once the darkness is gone, all should return to its original state.” Aurora said that caused Sora to perk up. “Kairi will be back on the island?” Sora asked. “Most certainly. And you should be, too” Cinderella added and Sora blinked.

“Wait, so we’ll be back in our worlds” I asked. Aurora nodded as I slightly frowned. I can’t go back, not because I can’t anyways because I need to make sure Frances and my other friend is all right. Hoshi did say I had one more friend to look for. I’ll start searching, if I had any guess, I think it would be Jazmine with the z.

“I can’t go home ‘til I find Riku and the king.” Sora told them and both Cinderella and Aurora shared glances. They nodded to each other before looking to Sora. “Then continue your journey till you do” Aurora said. I smiled slightly as we started walking away from them. “We should head to the gummi ship” Goofy suggested.  Sora nodded.

We left the Castle Chapel and began our final descent down this castle before we would go into the gummi ship and save all the worlds.

“So Michelle” Sora was looking over at me, his arms crossed behind his neck while he walked.

 “What happened?” He asked. I crossed my arms in front of me and smirked. “I had to figure something out on my own. Took longer than expected and a lot of weird things happened apparently” I explained to him lightly. I laughed faintly to myself and shook my head. I then looked over at the three and smiled faintly. “I’m sorry guys for not being there for you” I said apologetically.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy shared looks before looking back at me.

“You don’t have to be sorry. You came after all, didn’t you?” Sora said. Goofy wrapped an arm around my shoulders, Sora’s, and Donald’s. “We’re all best friends’ right?” Goofy said and we all grinned.

“Yeah!”

"This is it” We reached the Rising Falls and looked over the land. “We’re going to save the worlds right” I asked and Sora nodded. “Yeah”

“It’s going to be a tough journey” “But we have each other’s back” Donald exclaimed brightly and I smiled. “No matter what happens, it’s all for one and one for all right?” I said and everyone nodded in agreement.

I smiled and closed my eyes. This is it, the moment of truth. We’re going to the End of the World, we’re going to stop Ansem and we’re going to save every single world.

“Then let’s go!”


	27. The End of the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yessssssss, we're in our final countdown, bwahahaha. Well, i know this series isn't the best that most people have probably seen but i hope for those that have read this far, thank you. Really, thank you. I hope i can impress with the next series that continues this story on because that's the one i'm really proud of thus far. Well. Until then, enjoy the beginning of the end.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-Gummi Ship-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It all ends here

My hands tapped against the arm stand while my eyes stared into the blank screen of the radar. I feel all anxious, paranoid is probably best to describe it. We were heading to the End of the World to end this conflict with Ansem once and for all but right now I really didn’t want to face this. God, I have to stop thinking about this or else I’m going to get sick to my stomach. My heart felt like it was dropping down to my stomach and I took a steady gulp and stood up.

“Sora, how far are we?” I demanded, trying to hide the fact that I was about to pass out from anxiety. Sora turned his head and looked over only to shrug.

“I dunno… it’s been quiet since we left Hollow Bastion” He answered. “A little too quiet if you ask me” Donald retorted grumpily.

I frowned, sitting down in the chair and decided to flip on the radar. The screen flickered to life and I was greeted to absolutely nothing. I studied the readings, hoping for a sudden change or something different to show what I was seeing was wrong. But of course, it wasn’t. I sighed deeply, feeling my stomach do a flip. Oh here comes the paranoia now!  I got up from the seat and began to pace around. Fun fact: I always begin to walk whenever I get super nervous or I get a story idea. It rolls like clips of a movie in my head and for some reason walking helps. But now the idea of why the heartless weren’t here was playing. Scenarios began to play out and I put a hand to my chin.

“Why haven’t we seen any heartless ships by now” I muttered. It couldn’t be possible that we’ve gone this far and haven’t seen one trace of resistance.

“Do you think there are none?” Goofy asked but Sora shook his head. “No, we’re heading straight towards where the darkness is strongest. This is probably where they come from” Sora exclaimed. I smirked.

“Yeah, they’re not suddenly going to change their mind. Like, ‘Oh come on in! Ansem is down the hall to your left! Have a nice time killing him!’ with a smile.” I retorted. And if they did, that would really get me scared. Sora turned his head and looked at me funny.

“You’re really nervous aren’t you?” He asked, leaning his arm over the chair to continue looking over. I crossed my arms, giving a simple nod. “Well don’t worry!” Goofy said optimistically, smiling as he looked over at me. “Whatever happens, we can handle it!” Donald added with Sora nodding in agreement.

I smiled and finally sat down on the chair. “Thanks guys that made me feel a little better” I said. From the corner of my eyes I started noticing little flashing lights. I turned and looked at the radar only to feel like timed stop. My smile disappeared, my eyes widen and I swear my heart stopped for a second.

“Oh my god” Was all I could say.

“What’s wrong?” Donald asked, looking over in my direction. All I could do was look back at him then back to the screen. Finally I slapped my cheek. “We got company!” I exclaimed loudly and pointed out the window. All three guys turned their heads and looked carefully out the window.

“I’m starting to get heartless readings on the spot and let me tell you there are hundreds!”

“Umm Michelle.” Sora tried saying but a violent shake forced me to the ground and I nearly began sliding into the wall before Sora had manage to get good control on the ship. “What the hell was that?!” I asked getting back up.

“Heartless what else!” Sora answered. Another hit caused Donald flying out of his sit and nearly crashed into me. “Come on! We need to start showing them what we got!” I jumped to the firing seat and locked and load. Time to terminate some heartless.

And here was the star wars brigade. Kingdom Hearts version. Holy crap, we are so going to die from this fight it’s not going to be funny. Yet here I am, grinning evilly as I suddenly realized that Cid had added one more thing to our ship before we left Hollow Bastion. Eat lasers heartless! Oh how stupid I sound right now. Shit, we were really outmatched but at least the ship was quick. Going through a series a barrel rolls, sudden turns, and dashes, all I could remember hearing was Donald and Sora’s mixed yelling about something and the sound of our ship getting hit. That’s when we really got hit, sending everyone hurdling out of their seats. The lights turned off and I saw the red lights from the radar flickering.

“Damn it” I sneered, catching onto the seat before I could be tossed back again. Looking down, I saw that we only had one more colony of heartless trying to attack us. I sighed angrily, hearing chip and dale from the intercom reporting that we had massive damage. So if we were to get hit one more time then we’re screwed. GAAAAAAAAAH!

“Who’s where?!” I asked, hoping for an answer quick. Suddenly the ship turned roughly, sending me back to the floor, on my back.

……..This happens too often.

“I’m on the floor!” I heard Sora exclaim but suddenly the ship turned again and I began sliding backwards, nearly hitting the table in the back. “Ow…hit the chair!” Sora groaned loudly while I rubbed my head. “I got the control!” Donald informed and suddenly the ship felt my even.

I blinked, trying to focus my eyes to get use to the darkness but that wasn’t about to happen when the ship took another turn sending me to the wall of the ship.

“Donald! Watch where you’re driving!” Goofy told him but with another rocky turn, I heard three ‘oufs’ before everything came to a calm.

I groaned, this time being on my stomach on the floor and I still couldn’t see anything since the lights weren’t on still.  “Okay! Who’s alive!?” I demanded while tapping the ground to find a chair or something to get back up with.

“I thewk er ler!” I heard Donald manage to say but he sounded squished. I tried getting back up but instead of finding a chair, I found Sora’s head.

“OW!” He got away from my hand and I think he was looking in my direction.  “That hurt!”

“Sorry, but man Sora, your hair could be a weapon itself!”

I crossed my arms when suddenly the lights began flickering back on. Finally it came back on and I smiled brightly in relief. Sora looked up and then cheered loudly “All right! We got here in one piece!”

“Yaaaaaay” Both of us turned to see Donald being crushed by an unconscious Goofy. “Can swombodie help ne?”

After managing to pull Goofy off of Donald and pouring some potion on him, I finally caught notice of the world. Well if you even consider it a world. It seemed more like a collection of rocks surrounding a mysterious purple fog forming in the middle of this all. I stared out the window and suddenly felt cold. It was like all the happiness in the worlds was being drained by that thing. It would figure since this was where the trouble of it all started. It looked so…so….

“It looks like its dying” Sora’s voice caused me to turn to him to see the other three were looking out the window as well. I simply nodded and continued to look towards the End of the World. Well this is it; our journey is coming to end. Our final battle. Time to show what the heroes got!

“This may be the last place we may go so we should take everything we have” Donald exclaimed.

I nodded and went to my room. I looked around, taking in the surrounding. Wow, this was my room. How long has it been since I left my home? I can’t even remember, guess I lost track. My hand trailed over the counter until I felt the collection of papers. I picked them up and gazed at it. In my head I felt like I should’ve left them but I instead I placed them into my pocket before shuffling through the draws to find my mp3. There it is! I gleamed at the white device and thought of all the times this helped me. With only fifty songs, I couldn’t ask for anything better since this thing could survive everything! Heartless tried smashing this but it wouldn’t go! I shoved it into my pocket and took one final look to the room I probably wouldn’t see ever again. If I’m lucky I may but I’m not so sure about that. I closed the door and looked to see Sora only clutching the charm that Kairi had gave him when we were still in Traverse Town.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Yeah”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-The End of the World-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The sound of waves filled my ears and I opened my eyes to see we had been transported inside a small cave. We walked out and my eyes widen.  Violet water surrounded us along with boulders, possibly remains of some world. This place feels so desolate, it’s kind of creepy. I shivered, feeling a cool breeze against my arms. This is The End of the World, the remains of the worlds that were taken over by heartless. Such a fitting name.

 “Gawrsh, is that all that’s left of the world’s taken by the Heartless?” Goofy asked, taking a look around before looking at Sora and Donald. “I’m afraid so” I admitted sadly.

“Those worlds will be restored if we beat Ansem, right?” Sora asked, turning his head to us. “You betcha” Donald said, nodding his head and looking off to the distance.

“But, if we do beat him and all these worlds become restored and disconnected, what's going to happen to this place? And to us?” Sora questioned. My eyes widen and I gulped at the thought.  What IS going to happen to us?! I know we’ll eventually end up on a field following Pluto…

Speaking of, THEY NEVER EXPLAINED HOW THAT DOG GOT THERE! With my luck, the mystery of Pluto shall never be explained.

“Well uh……..” Donald tried to think of a possibility but came up with nothing. That’s when Goofy decided to take a shot at it. “This is a Heartless world, so maybe it’ll just disappear.” Goofy said. …Well that was a shocker to hear.

“Huh?!” We all turned to Goofy, raising a brow of concern. He nodded but then smiled bright and sure of himself.

“But don’t worry. Even if this place goes poof, our hearts ain’t goin’ nowhere. I’m sure we’ll find our pals again. Yup, I just know that we will.” Goofy said.

I smiled at Goofy. Well, it looks like I’m not going to worry too much about the end. Once I get there, I’ll think about it.

“Yeah, you’re right.” I said. We all looked forward, noticing where our path would lead us to a giant white orb of light. That’s probably where we have to go. I looked over to Sora who seemed to be thinking about something.

“Let’s go” Sora said.

We all ran off, running quickly on top of the water. But as we ran across, we had several encounters with heartless. But miraculously we made it across the heartless infested war zone by the time we reached the end. God, these heartless were extremely strong. I thought I was going to pass out from sheer exhaustion by the time we reached the large orb at the end and even then we had to fight another freaking behemoth!  At least we knew how to beat it. We defeated the heartless and were teleported to somewhere different. Rock walls surrounded us with stalagmites sticking out from the walls. Crystals seemed to be all around, glowing faintly at least giving us some light. Looking around, I saw that we were probably up high. How high I don’t know and for once, I sort of want to know.

 “I wonder where that Ansem feller went.” Goofy asked. I crossed my arms and give a small shrug.

“Dive into the most dangerous place and we’ll find him!” Donald exclaimed. I blinked and looked over the edge and gulped. Holy cow…that’s a long way down. Ok, I regret looking down but at least I know what I have to expect.

“Wow, we’re up high” I took a step back while Donald and Goofy both looked down. “Where do you think we have to go?” Donald asked, now looking to Sora this time.

“There’s only one way to find out” Sora took a few steps back before he ran and jumped off. Is falling incredible dangerous heights the only way to get to certain places? I looked over to Donald and Goofy before giving a small sigh. “I guess falling is the only way” I said before leaping off after the brunette.

Donald and Goofy looked to each other and shrugged and followed us. I kept jumping on pillars and random stones that were sticking out of the wall as I made my way down. If this is how it feels to be a ninja, then I REALLY hope there’s a Naruto world! Donald and Goofy had finally caught up with me and I began to guess where we had to go. Looking down I saw a glowing portal that seemed to be where we should be heading next. Finally catching up with Sora, we all looked down to the portal and on instinct jumped. Freefalling is probably one of the weirdest experiences I ever felt—only transporting beats it. The feeling of nausea caused me to put a hand to my mouth while I looked away. I really don’t want to do that again. But when I noticed where we landed, I knew that I was freaking doomed. Pillars of lights trailed all the way for a couple of miles till they changed colors, one green and one fiery red. My jaw dropped at the amount of portals. We’re going to have to cross this all?

“Whaddya think these are?” Goofy asked, walking close to it and looking around it. Donald stared at it for a moment before sticking a hand through it for a minute before pulling it back. I sighed and just decided to walk in. I then found myself in……Traverse Town?

“What the heck?” I thought out loud, looking around to see I was in the Third District. “Hey! We’re back here?!” I turned to see Donald looking around in shock followed by the sudden appearances of Sora and Goofy. That’s when the heartless appeared and we immediately took our weapons out for battle.

Three shadows appeared before me and I swung my Keepers Key (the blue version of the Kingdom Key) around before taking them out with Firaga. These were the sort of Heartless that we would see in Traverse Town too. But there was a bunch. Slashing at two soldiers, I soon found myself against four more. I gripped the handle with both hands and thought deeply. Spin around; just spin around with all your strength! 

“Rush assault!” I began spinning quickly around, knocking four that tried jumping at me but was quickly deflected with the blade. I soon came to a stop, feeling really dizzy but I took the time to cast Thundaga to take care of the heartless. Oh my head. Putting a hand to my forehead, I looked around to see Goofy take out the final heartless.

That’s when a bright light engulfed my vision and soon enough it disappeared. I blinked rapidly, looking at the ground to see the blue tiles disappeared and we were now on pink. I finally looked up to see we had been transported to Wonderland. “What the—what’s going on?” I demanded.

But before that could be answered, more heartless appeared. “Again?” Sora groaned before attacking the first pair that tried to attack him with Firaga. Fighting with the heartless began to become annoying as we continued to defeat them and were immediately transported to a different world.

Are we following a chain or something? First Traverse Town, then Wonderland, now the Olympus Coliseum?

 “Hey why are we getting sent back to places we’ve been to?” I asked once we had defeated the worlds heartless. Sora shrugged while Donald crossed his arms suspiciously.

“Something’s up” He deemed. Eventually the light would bring us to the Deep Jungle and we would have to fight the irritating monkey heartless that I freaking hate. Hehehe, at least I had all rights to use Firaga multiple times in a row! Bwahaha. But soon when that came to an end, Goofy found something that caught our attention.

“Hey fellas! Look what I’ve found!” Walking over to Goofy and muttering a small cure spell, I stopped cold when I saw what was in Goofy’s hand. “Isn’t that Sabor’s tooth?!” Donald observed then looked over to Sora, the one who carried the White Fang as a part of his equipment. It works somehow…I’ll never know.

He pulled it from his pocket and revealed it to us to make comparison. It was exactly the same. Even the cracks from the edge of the tooth were precise to the markings. I continued glancing at each one before putting a hand to my head, feeling the oncoming headache approaching.

“Might as well keep it then” I declared before the light engulfed us.

From then on, we would find objects that were unique to that world like the Three Stars, Raven’s Claw, and the Holy Circlet. ‘Were we going in order of the world’s we went to?’ I thought when we had managed to defeat the heartless in Neverland. Next we were taken to Atlantica where we had found ourselves changed.

 “What?! Donald didn’t even use magic?!” I said looking at myself.

Yup! Here was my blue tail! I looked over to Donald who seemed equally as confused. But right on schedule the heartless came out, we got our weapons out and the battle commenced. When we finally finished those worlds, we had ended up in a familiar field.

Looking around suspiciously, I let out a loud sigh of relief when I realized we had come across Pooh’s World, the only one that doesn’t have any heartless to deal with!  “I think we can take a break here” Sora said and sat down. Goofy and Donald both fell with a thud, obviously tired from all the continuous fighting. Steadily taking a seat on the soft grass, I looked over at the others.

“Does anyone else wonder why we’re going through all the worlds?” I asked. Wasn’t that the million dollar question?

The sound of humming coming from Donald and Goofy caused me to look at Sora who was too busy trying to change his equipment so he would be ready for the fights ahead. At least he was smart in doing that now unlike the three of us who are thinking about why we had to go through all of that.

“Maybe that’s because we went through all the worlds Sora locked up!” Goofy said that caused me to look at him. I put a hand to my chin and thought about it. He was right, it could be true. Maybe since they were the worlds we saved from being engulfed from the heartless, they were put there to mess with our minds or something.

I shrugged before looking at my equipment and making some small changes. I don’t know how changing all this will make me stronger but apparently it does once you’re out there on the battlefield.

After maybe 20 minutes of relaxing, fixing stuff up, we finally left Pooh’s world to find us standing next to the flamed lights. We entered in at the same time when we came to something that resembled what could’ve been in Hollow Bastion. A giant Heartless emblem was at the end of the hall but before that there was this door where if you looked at the right angle could see computers screens and large wires all around the room.

Curiosity getting the better over me, I entered the room to see a computer with a little blinking icon on the corner. I clicked a key to find the document opening up, revealing a long passage.

“What is it?” Goofy asked while Sora and Donald were looking around the room in awe. “A file, should I read it?” I asked. Goofy gave a nod while I heard Sora from afar go “Go on ahead!”

 _“Ones born of the heart and darkness, devoid of hearts, ravage all worlds and bring desolation. Seize all hearts and consummate the great heart. All hearts to be one, one heart to encompass all,”_ I read.  

“What does that mean?” Donald interrupted, having come over and looked from my left side. Sora pressed his head down, looking over the same shoulder as well. “Sshh there more” Sora said. I rolled my eyes and scrolled down.

 _“Realize the destiny: the realm of Kingdom Hearts. The great darkness sealed within the giant heart. Progeny of darkness, come back to the eternal darkness. For the heart of light shall unseal the path.  Seven hearts, one Keyhole, one key to the door. The door of darkness, tied by three keys.”_ I paused for a second to think about it.

 As I replayed the words in my head, it only became even more confusing to understand. How did the scientist even come up with this?! Or was this Ansem, the philosophy he lives on now a days? Shaking my head, I continued to read.

 _“The door of darkness to seal the light. None shall pass but shadows, returning to the darkness. Ones born of the heart and darkness, hunger for every heart until the dark door opens.”_ I finished.

 For a few moments it was silent before all of us numinously cocked our heads to the side and let out a “Huh?”

Suddenly heartless started appearing and the door to the room shut closed. I jumped back from the computer which the heartless slammed its sword onto, destroying it. ….BASTARD! THERE COULD’VE BEEN MORE STUFF ON THAT! I glared angrily at it before my keyblade came to hand and I began to fight.  I was slashing at it, going at such speeds I couldn’t believe I was going at. I finished it off and it left in a dark smoke.

“Let’s get out of here!” Donald said, pointing to the door that opened up when Sora had finished off the last of those strong heartless. We all nodded and got the heck out of there. We came back to where we were before and saw that the beam that was once coming out the hole was gone, replaced by just the hole in the ground. Sora looked to us as we looked down. Donald, Goofy, and I nodded to Sora who looked to the hole and jumped in, we followed. We fell what felt like forever but then started what felt like floating. We saw a giant volcano in front of us.

“I have a really bad feeling about this” I muttered looking around. I then looked to the volcano and got a better look of it. My face turned pale, eyes widen, and I gulped as I noticed what was on it.

I started to move and when it stood straight, it roared. I gasped as I looked to the yellow eyes that looked like it could cut anything in half. I remembered that thing when I was little; it terrified me for so long. And now we had to fight it.  It’s not real they said, you won’t have to worry about seeing it, WELL! THEY WERE WRONG!

Disney, thanks for imagining something like Chernabog. You’re just making my life and everyone else who ever had fought this opponent a reason to scream in annoyance. And for little children to hide under their beds and have nightmares about it. Thanks…

“What is that?!” Sora demanded and I gulped loudly, taking out my keyblade and holding it tight with both hands.

“That, Sora, is Chernabog. Probably our worst nightmares come to life”

Fire erupted from the volcano; Chernabog roaring what I imagined was his battle cry. When the fire ceased, his arms were crossed and he was waiting for us to make the first move. I was frozen yet again. Fear prevented me from moving. This was a child’s nightmare come to life. I don’t know how to handle this. I remembered when I was little and I would hide under the blankets because I hated this certain scene in _Fantasia._ But now looking at it, in real life, I knew I would be screwed simply trying to fight it. This was by far our biggest opponent we would fight. He had all the power of fire at his whim.  Just peachy, another guy to destroy my jacket.

“We’re really going to do this?” I caught myself asking unsurely, looking to Sora with a pleading look. He nodded and held the keyblade close. “We’ve come this far! We’re not going to back down!” He said in determination.  Donald pointed his wand forward, “Charge!”

Well, I took in a deep breath and focused. “Aeroga!” I casted the magic to at least give us some protection before we go and get ourselves killed. Because when the duck says ‘Charge’ you charge!

“Let’s go!” Sora said and we all scattered into the dark abyss. I stayed close to Goofy while Sora and Donald decide to go straight ahead.

Before we could even close to Chernabog, he lifted his arm then suddenly cut into the empty space. I raised a brow when suddenly I felt a hurricane gust hit me in full blast. “WHOA!” I screamed along with Goofy as we were sent hurdling away from Chernabog. Getting dizzy from all the flipping in the air. I managed to stop heading backwards and caught Goofy by his wrist before he went flying past me. Shaking his head, he fixed his hat. “Gawrsh! What was that?!” Goofy asked while I shrugged in response.

“I don’t know but we’re going back!” I exclaimed and Goofy nodded in agreement.

Whatever that attack was really did knock the wind out of me. Figuratively and literally. My Aeroga was casted off along with Goofy’s unfortunately and I had to use my magic to cast the wind to assist us again. My eyes scanned around for Sora and Donald but I noticed they were charging right back into battle. Chernabog seemed unfazed as Sora and Donald first reached him and attacked with multiple melee strikes and magic. When Goofy and I reached it, we bombarded it with attacks.

‘Stay behind the head’ I kept repeating to myself when Chernabog finally began to resist the attacks. His huge arms swept into the air and attempted to swat away the four of us. I smashed the back of its head before flying backwards to dodge its talons from grabbing me. “Jesus those look sharp” I muttered faintly watching as the talons sharped and drew back to strike at Donald. I continued bashing from the back of his head till he opened his arms widely and roared. “Oh not again!” I yelled in displeasure but found myself hurdling away in midair again. STUPID FREAKING—

I forced myself to take the wind and faced it until it died down before charging right back in. I whizzed through the air and drew back my keyblade and raised my hand. “Blizzardra, Blizzaga!’ I continued hitting the beast with ice spells, flipping in the air to dodge his hands.

“Come on Sora, Goofy! I’m distracting him just for ya!” I shouted, hoping they would zip past me and start beating at his head.

When an ice spell passed my head and hit the hand of the beast causing it to momentarily flinch giving me enough chance to get away, I turned and grinned to find Donald by my side.

“Thanks for that!” I said and Donald gave me a nod.

Soon after, Sora and Goofy came charging in, bashing at the face of Chernabog while Donald and I continued to freeze the hands to prevent them from hitting the duo. But every time we managed to freeze the hands it would begin to defrost from the heat of the volcano.

“Oh man!” Donald growled loudly and I nodded in agreement. Then I noticed the flames of the volcano begin to act up. I stared at it for a moment before my eyes widen. “Sora! Goofy!” I yelled and flew forward while Donald yelled when he got hit by the hand. Sorry Donald. Sora and Goofy paused in their attentions by the time I swooped down over to them.

“Move it! He’s about to catch on fire!” I yelled loudly, grabbing the two by the arm. Looking down, I could see he was about to do his attack. So I tossed them the other two away. I then bent my knees, my feet placed on the head and shot forward. Swimming better pay off. Swim away—err fly away! Aeroga was casted over me when suddenly I felt my foot get extremely hot. “Shit!” I flipped in the air and grabbed my singed foot.

Ow, ow, ow, ow! This is what happens whenever I get them out of trouble! I stopped looking at my foot for a moment to see the inferno that was surrounding Chernabog. Imagine if I hadn’t got out of there when I did, I would’ve been done for. I gulped faintly and winched as I placed my hand inside my sneaker. “Curaga” I whispered and felt the burning sensation somewhat relax. At least I’ll be able to move around like this.

“Michelle!” I turned my head and saw Donald fly over to me. “Are you alright?” He asked and I nodded. “Where’s Sora and Goofy?” I asked when they suddenly swooped up from below causing me to jerk in surprise. Jeez!

“Is it even possible to beat this thing?!” Donald demanded and Sora shook his head. “There has to be a way” Goofy added and I crossed my arms in frustration.

“The only time when he lets down his defense is when he blows us away” I remarked, thinking how he always takes a five minute pause. It couldn’t seriously drain that much power from a giant like that? Could it? Sora hummed for a minute before hitting his hand over his palm.

“That’s it!” Sora exclaimed. The rest of us looked at him, clearly wanting him to further explain.

“We’ll take him on during then!When he tries to get rid of us, we’ll sling shot one or two of us back to get him!” Sora” Sora said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I raised a brow and crossed my arms. I glanced to see Chernabog was still on fire but the flames were lingering back to the volcano.

So far his idea didn’t sound bad. I gripped the handle of the keyblade and nodded. “All right, I’m in” I agreed and Donald crossed his arms. “Like we have anything better” Donald muttered but took his wand out nevertheless.

“GO!” The four of us charged right back in when the flames died down and Chernabog had his arms crossed, those yellow eyes glaring at us as we approached. He drew his hands together and flames begin to form.

“Blizzaga!” Donald and I casted the icy spell, knocking the fire off one hand then we casted it again to take out the next.  Was it possible for this thing to look pissed? Because his glare looks like it could cut diamonds in half.  The beast sucked in some air and before I realized what he was doing, fire was spewing from his mouth.

“WHOA!” I dove down, grabbing Donald’s leg along the way before he could turn into a roast duck. “WAH!” A cry escaped Donald’s mouth and I looked up seeing his tail on fire. Seriously? For the fifth time?! “Blizzard!” The spell got rid of the fire but his tail feathers were still burned.

He glared at Chernabog, muttering some unintelligible words but I could tell he was ready to punch the thing.  I whirled my keyblade around in my right hand before handing it over to my left. Maybe this could work.

“Wanna help me with something?” I asked deviously plotting something that I hoped to god would work. Donald looked at me with a raised but I could only respond with an evil chuckle. “Cast Blizzaga when I throw my keyblade!” I instructed him and he nodded, readying his wand out.

I grinned and reeled my arm backwards. Time for the main event! Try spitting fire with this about to hit your face. “Frost Strike!” I felt the handle of my keyblade turn icy cold as I threw it. 

“Blizzaga!” The keyblade had then begun to get an icy coat as it went hurdling towards the beast’s mouth. ‘Come on, come on’ I crossed my fingers in anticipation till I noticed it was leaning towards the right and smacked in the cheek.

Aim, you failed me once again. I slapped my head in disbelief and groaned loudly.

But hearing the beast roar loud and the heat of the flames disappear cause me to look up and grin in succession. Yes! Lady Luck is helping us again!

“Now!” Sora, Goofy, Donald, and I rushed back to assaulting Chernabog. Flying around, dodging the hands and smacking is face is sort of becoming fun. Well this is certainly a good way to fight your nightmares for sure!

“Get ready fellas!” Goofy called out and I nodded in anticipation. I watched as Chernabog swept its arms into the air and braced myself, grabbing Goofy’s hand then Sora’s. The feeling of the wind pushing me back nearly sent me tumbling back but I had to keep holding on.

I closed my eyes but as I felt the wind dying by a fraction I snapped them open and looked to Goofy and Donald.

 “All right, let’s do this!” Sora exclaimed and Goofy and I nodded in understandment.

I gripped his hand tightly and in a swift turn along with Goofy, we spun around and I let go of Sora’s hand, rocketing towards Chernabog. “Go Donald!” I said as we spun once more and Goofy let go of Donald, sending him in the same direction as Sora’s. Kick his ass.

 “Let’s help them out!” Goofy suggested and I nodded in agreement. CHARGE! I flew forward along with Goofy, our weapons out and once we were close enough, spun around and let them loose. Oh yeah double strikes with the boomerang effect! The two weapons slashed at the face and I could see Sora striking the head before Donald let loose a Blizzaga spell.

A loud roar pierced the air and I could see was that Chernabog was being consumed in a hellish blue fire that was erupting from the volcano violently. Ash blew into the air, covering most of the field in a fog. I waved my hand in front of my face then when it was clear enough to see, I didn’t see anything in the volcano.

 “We beat it…” My voice came out as a soft, disbelief whisper. But then I kept repeating it in my head and a smile began forming on my face. Finally realization stepped in and I extended my arms in the air.

“WE BEAT IT!!!” I screamed loudly while doing a backflip in midair. HAHAHAHHAHAHA! OH YEAH! IN YOUR FACE YOU EVIL CREATURE I NEVER LIKED!  Concluding my small victory dance in midair I caught sight of Sora, Donald, and Goofy and waved to them.

Oh yeah, I feel pumped now. We can so beat Ansem if we were able to beat Chernabog.

Flying over to them, I noticed Sora and Donald were panting heavily and I looked down into the volcano. Something glowing caught my attention. “Looks like we’re going down from here” I muttered loudly. “We should be able to land down there”


	28. Last Save

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, it seems i'm going to wrap it all up in one big ol' chapter this week. That's going to be fun. After that, i'm going to take a break, found out my dog has cancer. So i'm going to spend time with him while he has it. He's my baby after all. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and what's eventually to come! Until next time~

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-Inside the Volcano-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Back on wobbly feet, I examined the dark landscape of the volcano. Looking over the edge I noticed we had a long way down before the pool of light. Yet at the same time I was trying to resist collapsing onto my knees at this point. I turned around and looked over to the others. For now, we were taking the time to recover from the fight. Donald had casted a few Curaga’s and Goofy had given the three of us a few ethers. I don’t know why but drinking Ether gets me sick to the stomach. It tastes funny unlike elixirs and potions. I groaned, scratching my neck while we rested along the ground. Well…we’re half way from this point. I grimaced, resting my arms along my knees and looked to the others. We’ve made it this far together somehow. I hope for the next remaining amount of time we have it’ll continue like this. Even in the end we’ll make it. Gosh…this is really going to happen.

“So are we ready to go?” Donald asked, stretching his arms out.

Sora nodded and I stood up, peering once more over the side. I exhaled, not bothering to wait as I leapt down towards the first edge, trying to adjust myself to falling down instead of going straight on down. Now here comes the easy part. Landing on my feet, I quickly turned and jump off to the next ledge. From then on, we continued to descend down, deeper and deeper into the darkness. The light at the bottom grew brighter and before I knew it, I was falling right through it.

“Jesus!” I found myself falling onto my side, the next room having completely changed and now was heading sideways instead of down. I groaned, rolling out the way and sitting up to rub my sides. That was not what I was expecting to happen. I grimaced, ready to pick myself up from the ground when the next thing I knew Donald flew out, bumping into me. Then Goofy, oh god my back. Sora landed right on top, everyone groaning in pain.  Ouch.

“What the heck!?” I heard Donald grumble while Goofy and Sora moved to the side allowing him to get up. The next minute I sat up and Donald flopped to the ground. I huffed in annoyance, rubbing my neck in pain. Jeezes, you guys weigh a ton.

“That was unexpected” Goofy murmured, rubbing his head and Sora agreed.

Getting back up, I couldn’t help but notice what was in this hall. Pieces of what seemed to be remains of the worlds that the heartless took over were scattered around. I eyed the walls as we began to walk. Dark thorn vines were sketched intertwining into imagines that reminded me of roses and ravens. The only sign of life seemed to be the bushes that were growing near the broken pillars but something about them even seemed that they were lifeless. I shivered suddenly feeling cold as we passed through the next light and entered a hall similar to the previous. I noticed Goofy and Donald was shivering as well when we strolled through the passageway.

“Gawrsh, it really got cold.” Goofy exclaimed that caused Sora to turn to him. “Yeah, I wonder why.” Sora muttered drawing his arms close to his sides.

It certainly was suspicious. I couldn’t help but look around when I saw something that caught my interest. A faded image of Hoshi stood there as her original self with light honey brown hair and golden colored eyes. She was standing near the portal when she turned to face me. For a second, I thought she was here for one last attack on me and I slightly extended my hand out to get my keyblade but she nodded at me before walking into the portal, disappearing. I blinked and the sudden cold had disappeared.

“Hey, it got warm again!” Donald pointed out and looked around.

I blinked for a minute, astonished how Hoshi still manages to make an entrance and exit coolly, and how she seemed…a little at peace. A faint smile grew on my face and continued walking while the boys seemed to be quite disturbed about the temperature changes. Jeez, it’s not like the heartless are doing it. Walking into a third identical hall, the only difference here was one little object. It caught my eye right away since it stuck out so much. In the corner near a broken pillar laid a little brown stuff teddy bear. There was a minor rip on the arm and one of its button eyes was scratched. I, for some strange reason, was drawn to it while the others passed it without even so much of a glance. I wonder if they could even see it. I picked it up from the ground and stared at it for a few moments.

“Still fond of stuff animals I’m guessing, eh?” I jumped, letting the stuff animal fall from my hands and turned to see Juliana in the hall.

“Juliana?!” The woman before me smiled, nodding. I jumped, looking down the path and saw that Sora, Donald, and Goofy had disappeared. They probably continued on because they thought I would follow.  I laughed softly and crossed my arms behind my back, looking back to the taller woman.

“I guess I’m not as tough as I thought,” I noted jokingly with a playful smirk.

Juliana smiled faintly and put her hands on her hips. Her platinum hair swayed a little bit as she tilted her head. “It looks like this is it.” She exclaimed softly, eyeing the light at the end of the tunnel then back to me. I stared at her, unable to think of what to say. I closed my eyes before looking at her and smiled.

“Thank you Juliana, without your help I probably wouldn’t even have been here to fight with my friends.” I said sincerely to her.  She raised a brow, straightening herself and crossed her arms in front of her. “Don’t thank me I just helped you realize what you wanted.”

She walked over to me and stood over me, putting a hand on my shoulder. She was still taller than me so she bent down a little and looked at me at eye level.

“You were determined on helping your friends until the end, even if it meant you couldn’t go home. You see Michelle, that’s what makes you tough; you don’t abandon people even if it hurts you in the end” She remarked and patted my shoulder.

I frowned, suddenly thinking about Frances and possibly even Jazmine if she really was here. Juliana noticed the frown and put a finger under my chin.

“Your friends will be all right” Juliana said and put her other free hand on my other shoulder. “Just remember, you have to be strong, after this, it’s going to be a whole new experience” She told me lowly and warningly. I stared at her, meeting with her gray eyes as they studied me. I sighed faintly and nodded.

“Yeah, I figured” I said softly and pushed her right hand off gently off my shoulder. She took off her other hand and stood up straight, ruffling my hair a little bit and smiled.

“Though this may sound a little awkward, I’m proud of you Michelle” She said un-expectantly that caused me to raise a brow. I’ve only known her for a little bit but from the way she said that, it sounded like she knew me for ages. She took a step back and then passed me to walk over to the light at the end of the tunnel. She placed a hand over it and a barrier was released from it.

 So even if I wanted to help Sora, Donald, and Goofy against the heartless I wouldn’t have been able to because of that stupid barrier. Note to self, I really need to learn how to summon those and get rid of them. They could probably be helpful in the future. Juliana turned around and extended a hand towards it.

“You’re friends are probably done fighting with the heartless,” She guessed, gesturing her head towards it. “Go” I smiled and began walking.  Before I went through, I turned to face her one last time. “Juliana…are you real?” I asked. Juliana blinked at me a few times, raising a brow.

“What?” She responded not able to understand what I was asking her.

“Are you real like a human being or are you something like Hoshi?” I demanded my curiousity getting the better of me. She crossed her arms and gave me a ‘Are you serious?’ kind of look before sighing.

“I am as much human as you are that I could tell you” She explained and patted my head childishly.

“So then how are you able to appear everywhere like Hoshi does?” I asked again. She smiled, holding up one finger near her face playfully and wagged it back and forth. “That you have to figure out on your own” She teased and I gave a small pout as a response. She laughed and gripped my shoulder.

“Now stop dilly dallying! Go!” She pushed me forward and I went through the light.

-.-.-.-.-

 “Michelle?!” Goofy was the first to notice the missing brunette.

“Where the heck did she go?!” Donald demanded looking around in frustration. They had finished defeating all the heartless and just realized.

“WHOA!” I yelled falling onto the ground, face first. I groaned, putting a hand to my face and sighed loudly in annoyance.  “Again—ouch!” I muttered. It always happened. “Hey!” I moved my hand and looked seeing the trio surrounding me.

“Hey, where did you go?!” Donald demanded.

“It was like one second you were here and then the next you were gone” Goofy added as Donald huffed in agreement. I grinned sheepishly, getting up from the ground and shrugged innocently.  Scratching my head, I began to examine the room and the path ahead. It seems they did just finish up with the fighting. Looks like Juliana was correct on that assumption. I hummed softly while tilting my head.

 “So what happened?” I asked. “We got rid of all the heartless and then that opened up” Sora said. I crossed my arms while the others looked at me looking for an answer. Make it up Michelle, come on, white lies aren’t all that bad.

“Well, I was going to go in with you guys when suddenly a barrier like thing prevented me from going.” I explained truthfully and sighed. It was true at least. I just didn’t mention Juliana, that’s not technically lying.

“Well it’s good that you’re back at least!” Goofy said cheerfully and I smiled in response. “Let’s keep going on!” I encouraged and began walking with Goofy shortly following after me.

I swear I heard Donald and Sora mutter something else and snicker. Entering the small room, all that was there was a small little puddle with water streaming down into it from the collected rocks on it and a large pink door. I stared around and for a split second, I thought I saw the save spot glittering along the sand. I blinked wildly, rubbing my eyes only to look back to find nothing in sight. It must’ve been a trick of the mind.

 “Huh?” Sora gasped and looked around causing us to turn to face him. He looked around the room and Donald raised a brow. “What’s wrong?” Donald asked and Sora looked at him. “Don’t you hear something?” Sora asked. He paused then lifted his head up. 

“There!” He repeated and Donald, Goofy and I shared glances. He was having one of his moments again.

I closed my eyes and decided to try to listen. Hey, maybe I could hear whatever he was just hearing. It was silent expect the sound of water running and then I heard a faint noise. The voice began to sound more audible but unlike Hoshi and Juliana, I couldn’t tell if it was male or female.

 _Careful. This is the last haven you’ll find here. Beyond, there is no light to protect you. But don’t be afraid. Your heart is the mightiest weapon of all. Remember, you are the one who will open the door to the light_.

I snapped my eyes opened and stared at the wall in disbelief. Oh my god, Sora’s not crazy, he was actually telling the truth. Meaning I’m not crazy. Phew.

 “I don’t hear anything” Donald said after the pause of silence and Sora ran a hand through his hand, looking perplexed about it. “It’s strange…that voice was so familiar.” Sora murmured faintly before he sighed and crossed his arms behind his neck. “Maybe it’s just my imagination.”

Don’t ever think a voice in your head is an imagination! It is not! DO NOT DOUBT OR DENY IT SORA! I sighed and found myself facing the door. The pink door was elegant yet this would be the same door that would lead us to our final battle.

“So if we go in, Ansem’s probably gonna be there……..right?” I asked out loud and turned to face the others. Sora nodded and I glanced over at the door one more time.  

 “Then after that……..” I trailed off. We all looked to the door, wondering if we should go. It was a few minutes of silence when Goofy smiled and made the first comment. “Remember, even if this place goes poof, our hearts ain’t goin’ nowhere.” He encouraged, smiling brightly.

Sora and I shared glances and smiled in agreement. “Yeah, you’re right Goofy” I said and crossed my arms. Sora took a step forward, gripping the handles of the door then looked at us. “You guys ready for this?” Sora asked one last time.

“Uh huh!” Goofy said. “You betcha!” Donald said. I looked to the door then to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Well, it looks like this is it. Now or never. But we’ll get through it. “Yeah.” I said positive of the answer. Sora looked at all of us before nodding. He turned to the door and pulled the handles.

“All for one and one for all” I thought in my head as the door began to automatically open and once it was opened, we walked into the blinding light.

The sound of nothing caused me to open my eyes and look up. At that instant, I was greeted with colors of blue skies, blue oceans and the sandy beach. I blinked trying to make sure I wasn’t going crazy and that I wasn’t alone.

Turning my head slightly I saw Goofy was to my right while Sora was three steps ahead of me alongside Donald.

I watched as Sora took a step forward, looking completely defenseless and bewildered by the site. I frowned, finally registering in my head exactly where we were. “Is this…Is this… my island?” Sora asked more to himself then to us. Destiny Island, Sora’s home…. or what’s left of it.

I looked behind to see the pink door that had led us here had vanished without a trace and all that was there was the Secret Place with the faint hollow noises that were blowing inside.

I opened my mouth to say something but I was taken aback by how lifeless this place looked. Though it seemed similar, the waterfall that once fell gracefully into the lagoon below had all but dried out, the trees on the island were dead on the ground and worst of all was the silence.

The sound of waves was lacking, the inhabitants of the island were all but lost and there wasn’t even a faint breeze. Everything seemed dead. Sora took a few steps forward and looked around. Goofy hummed loudly and put a hand to his chin.

 “Wait, if this is Sora’s world and it was engulfed by the heartless then—” Goofy trailed off when Donald crossed his arms. “Then what is this place?” Donald demanded.

I looked at the two of them and glanced over to Sora. He seemed sadden by what he was looking at, half of him wanting to believe this was his home and the other half telling him that it wasn’t. A sympathetic frown played along my lips and I offered a small shrug.  

 “…This is probably all that’s left of this world” I told them softly and crossed my arms. ‘Or this is just a mere illusion’ I thought pessimistically.

You know, I think I’m going to stop thinking about things for a while because from now on, my brain would be on overdrive simply on survival. Goofy and Donald looked at each other, giving small frowns as they also looked to Sora. But Donald jumped, feeling a cool chill brush past him.

“What was that?” Donald asked that caused Goofy to look at him. “What was what?” Goofy asked but Donald gave another jump when he felt the cold chill. “That!” He insisted and Goofy stood by his side. Another cool breeze came and both of them jumped.

“What is that?!” Goofy said in alarm. I raised a brow but then I felt that same cool breeze coming from the Secret Place. I turned to face it and I instantly felt dreadfully cold. It was eerie, it was like all the happiness in the world was being sucked into there and it was trying to take in more.

“What in the world…?” I murmured in disbelief.

Donald took a few steps towards and peered inside.

“Donald…I wouldn’t do that if I were you…” I warned him but before Donald could make a comment something interrupted him.

“This world has been connected.”

My eyes shot up and I whirled around. Where did that voice come from? My instincts were on alert now and I moved Donald away from the Secret Place. Damn I feel all tense, prickly even. The chill from the Secret Place intensified and we all backed away.

“What was that?!” Goofy asked when suddenly the small island connected to Destiny Island mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

“Tied to the darkness…soon to be completely eclipsed” The voice continued and suddenly another part of the island had disappeared without a trace causing me to whirl around. “What’s going on?!” I demanded and we slowly inched closer to Sora, ready for anything that was going to happen. The water that was once crystal blue turned to a horribly dark purple.

 “There is so very much to learn.  You understand so little.” Then the island started to shake. What the hell is going on?! We all were looking around, demanding an answer to the odd occurrences.

 “A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing, cannot understand nothing”

Finally the island shook and I nearly fell to the ground from the sheer vibrations. Then the island changed completely in a bright flash. When the light disappeared, I opened my eyes to see how the Island changed. There was no more water, gone without a trace.

The pieces of the shore was broken off and slowly falling over the edge. I turned and saw that the giant tree that stood up in the middle of the island still stood but trees beside it had broken in half, nothing more than hollow remains of their former self. I sat up and stared around till I saw someone standing. Near the edge of the shore…was Riku.

“Riku?” I asked in disbelief. Sora glanced at me for a second then look towards the direction I was looking at. His eyes widen and he repeated his name in the same tone.  It was unbelievable seeing the boy was there—‘Wait’ I thought, realizing the mistake I just had made. My fist tightened into a ball and I remembered. ‘That’s not Riku, its Ansem’

Sora scrambled to get up and we could only follow as he rushed to reach his friend. Stopping right where the cracks in the sand began, ‘Riku’ began talking.

 “Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom this island is a prison surrounded by water. And so this boy sought to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds. And he opened his heart to darkness.” A deep voice responded.

Oh Ansem, why is it that you only sound epic in this game and not in the rest?! 

Ansem turned around, a dark glow surrounding him then he turned into Ansem. Long silver hair flowed to his back. Ansem's black leather coat is high-collared and completely unzipped, showing the second, shorter jacket he wears underneath. Ansem's second jacket is white and high-collared much like the outer coat. It is mostly unbuttoned and exposes Ansem's chest before being closed up by three buttons and two belts near the Heartless's waist, only to flare outward again, leaving three buttons undone. Sephiroth wannabe with those stupid elaborate coats then still having part of their chest open and long white/silver hair…ugh.

“Riku!” Sora yelled, his hand extended out as if to grab his friend back but to no avail. Ansem glanced over to him and gave him a glazed look.

“Don’t bother. Your voice can no longer reach him where he is. His heart belongs again to darkness” Ansem exclaimed causing Sora to glare at him darkly and his hands turned into fists. Ansem smirked at this and raises his hands into the air slightly.

“All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is its nature.” He explained to us like it was common sense. Yes, darkness consumes every single heart and turns them all to heartless. Or psychotic maniacs. But nevertheless, I could feel myself getting annoyed as Ansem continued babbling on.

“In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came.” He finished and suddenly disappeared. “What?!” I looked around before swirling around in a circle to see that he had come behind us, his arms crossed and his orange eyes staring down at us.

“You see, darkness is the heart’s true essence.” He said. Sora glared at him and shook his head in disagreement.

“That’s not true!” Sora yelled. Ansem raised a brow but he seemed slightly annoyed.

“The heart may be weak. And sometimes it may even give in.” Sora explained and put a hand to his chest. His eyes held such determination and when he looked back at Ansem they held nothing but strength.

“But I’ve learned that deep down, there’s a light that never goes out!” Sora told him and I nodded in agreement. Might as well spit something out while I can. “Nobody’s heart belongs to the darkness, there’s always a light hidden in the dark!” I added.

We all took our weapons out in preparation for battle. Ansem glowered at us, his arms still to his chest as a faint glow of darkness began to emit from his body. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck begin to stand up and I knew we were going to be facing one heck of a challenge in the next ten minutes….if we’re lucky.

“So, you have come this far and still you understand nothing.” Ansem remarked in disappointment.

The dark glow began to illuminate and he was beginning to descend into the air. My hands gripped tightly on my currently strongest keyblade, Heavenly Light, Sora had a tight grip on his Oblivion keyblade while Donald and Goofy both held Save the Queen staff and the Save the King shield respectively.

“Every light must fade—” He began to cross his arms firmly against his chest. His eyes darkened and I could begin darkness radiate from his being. “—every heart return to darkness!” Darkness exploded behind his back, morphing and forming into something. Arms began to materialize out and a body was created. It really looked human but it had yellow eyes gleaming above a mouth filled with sharp teeth. I grimaced at the site, watching as two long antennae spouted from the top of its head. Yeah, that being human is the understatement of the year.

I gritted my teeth, feeling hesitant of what was to come. Here it is. Let’s end this.


	29. Final Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here it is folks! The last chapter for the first series! I hope you all enjoyed this ride as much as I did. I hope to see you all around again for the next series that will be known as the Inside Story, taking place during 358/2 Days. It's an unusual twists with a lot more development on it seeing as this one I recently finished working on this week. So in the meantime I'm going to be taking some time off so until then, enjoy the final chapter. Until next time!
> 
> Road--

“Firaga!” I casted the spell, hoping to catch Ansem off guard. The heartless swiftly moved its arm out to protect Ansem from the explosion that commenced. Even through the smoke, I could hear Ansem chuckle, the golden eyes of the heartless peering through. My eyes widen and my jaw slacked slightly. Now the battle is going to be ten times harder then I originally thought it was going to be. “Move it!” I ordered, throwing my arm to the side.

With Donald barely casting a defensive spell over us when discs of electrifying darkness shot out from the smog. I hurled to the side, spitting out sand to find the heartless spread it’s arms out, the smog fading away from him and his master. The heartless arm rose into the air and when he sent it down, several discs of blades came hurdling straight at us. “Spread out!” Sora ordered and I didn’t take a minute to hesitate. I somersaulted away as the blades crashed into the sand where we were standing.

Dust particles blew into the air and I coughed while getting back up. I held my keyblade up taking in the peaceful second before charging right into battle. Sora was already fighting it out with Ansem’s heartless and Goofy was spinning, ready to toss his shield right at Ansem.

Donald was casting Curaga at Sora the moment after he was knocked down by the heartless. “HA!” I charged forward, leaping up into the air only to be blocked by the heartless. I grit my teeth and forced my leg down trying to kick through the heartless heart shaped hole but my left wrist was caught and next thing I know I’m being tossed into the air.

I gritted my teeth and twisted myself into the air before landing back on my feet gracefully. Wow, I actually didn’t stumble this time nor needed something to support myself up. I glared before deciding to rush forward again. Ansem was weaving through the air, dodging Donald’s spells and Goofy’s shield that nearly hits him. The Guardian was still deflecting most of Sora’s attack so I had an opening to actually attack Ansem. Jumping up into the air, I held the keyblade forward with two hands and hoped to god it would hit him. “Gun fire!”  The flaming bullet shot out and I watched in anticipation, please work, please work! We just need one straight on attack before we could start bashing him!

“Guardian protect!” Ansem shouted, not even bothering to look at the incoming. The heartless moved in front of him and blocked most of the attack and I growled loudly in annoyance. GAA!! But next thing I see is Sora leap up in the air and made five strikes against Ansem that the heartless couldn’t block. I grinned and punched the air. Oh yeah! Now here comes the onslaught of attacks.

“Fire Raid!” I landed back on the ground, my arm extended backwards and I threw the keyblade. The blade lit on fire as it spiraled in the air towards Ansem. The guardian moved to block the attack but Goofy came in, spinning around before knocking the Guardian’s attention towards him. The keyblade strike Ansem’s arm and I grinned in success. Now we have a plan to take him on! We just have to keep the two distracted! It twirled around in the air and then the heartless, causing it to growl in aggression. I jumped up and caught the keyblade.

“Enough of this!” Ansem snapped and held both of his hands out. His Guardian disappeared for a moment and in its replacement was a barrier that instantly deflected all of our attacks. Wait, but where is the Guardian? My eyes scanned the field quickly when I didn’t even have enough time to notice myself. I had my arm raised to cast a spell when something grabbed it. My eyes widen and I turned to see the Guardian hovering above me with my arm in tow. Oh shit. It growled when I tried punching it with my right hand only to get that caught too. That didn’t work.

“Let me go!” I snapped, lifting both my legs up and was about to kick it when it suddenly threw my aside like nothing. I hit the ground with a small thud though I was more pissed then injured. I got right back up seeing that the Guardian was grabbing Sora, preventing him from attacking at all.

“Hey! Leave him alone!” Donald shouted and Goofy threw his shield at the heartless causing it to loosen its grip on Sora. The shield disappeared from Ansem and I instantly took that chance. I raced at him and slashed at him, hitting him in the stomach. I didn’t care how bad I was going to get hurt after this but I needed to hit this guy.

“Insolent brat!” Ansem sneered when I finished the onslaught of attacks. I couldn’t help but grin but when his Guardian came back…well…here comes the hurt.

The Guardian moved his arms and produced several of those blades that came directly towards me. My eyes widen and I attempted to block most of them. But two caused a deep scratch across my cheek and cut a slash on my side, creating a tear in my jacket. I paused taking a second to look at it before I dropped my head.

That’s it. I’m snapping. WHY CAN’T I CATCH A BREAK?! GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

I clutched the handle of my keyblade tightly and took in a deep breath.  “Curaga!” I repeated three times and healed the trio as they decided to go and take on Ansem. I kept healing them and even began casting Blizzaga several times in order to hopefully freeze that stupid Guardian.

“Submit!” Oh dear god. My eyes widen when I saw the Guardian about to hit his next victim.

 “Donald! Goofy! Sora! Move it!” I called out for them and I charged forward. Yup, I knew there was going to be pain involved but I didn’t care. I had to protect my friends. The dark orb floated around in the air before targeting Donald who I manage to move in time, taking the hit.

Suddenly everything in my body shut down. I could barely control my legs while I my arms had fallen limp. Electricity buzzed in my ears and I feel the sudden urge to attack anything that came near me. “Michelle!” I saw Sora look at me for a moment, a look of sudden worry but I shook my head and glared at Ansem.

“Take him down now!” I insisted loudly.

I then felt a dagger like stab to my stomach causing me to kneel over from the pain. For a second, I saw an image of the Guardian appear in my head and my teeth clenched tightly. I tried extending my arm out but I saw the hand of the Guardian grab my arm and bent it.

“GAH!” The cry escaped from my mouth and I could see blood seep from the four long scratches on my arm that it caused. I bit down on my tongue, tasting iron before I finally felt the strength to use my left arm. I extended it forth and my keyblade came to hand.

“SORA!” I shouted, noticing the brunette using his Ragnorak attack. He finished it off and landed on the ground, turning his head towards me and I pulled my arm back.

I tossed the keyblade towards his direction and I felt the constriction on me tighten up. I could barely breathe but I watched as my keyblade cut through the air and Sora managed to catch it. I turned my head and watched as Sora jumped up, attacked Ansem then leaped back, allowing Donald and Goofy to do a combo attack and Sora held both keyblades tightly in his hands. “Duo Strike Raid” The words escaped from my mouth and I knew this was going to be the finishing move. He threw both blades and they slashed at Ansem from behind in an X formation. Once that was done, they spun around behind him in a boomerang and attacked Ansem in front of him. A faint smile came to my face but the sudden stab in my stomach came again causing me suppress a cry and I rolled on my back.

“GET THE HELL OUT OF ME!” I screamed. That’s when suddenly, the pain disappeared. Huh? I watched as the dark aura that faintly was over me disappeared and trailed off back towards Ansem. I gasped in relief when suddenly the control on my body had disappeared. Oh but the pain still lingered.

I casted two quick healing spells before I could manage to get back on my feet. I looked forward when suddenly Ansem began floating off towards the giant tree while Sora, Donald, and Goofy gave chase. That’s when the entire tree began shaking and they stopped. It began shaking violently and a tear began to form down the middle of the tree. It then began to spread and the tree tore into two pieces. And in the middle, Ansem waited with his Guardian in tow. I panted heavily before walking over to Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

“You guys alright?” I asked and they nodded but we took this small moment of reprise to drink some potions and ethers. Forget that, I’m drinking two elixirs! Gulping down those two I felt rejuvenated and ready to take on everything. Feeling the scars sting, I actually rather take Ansem on my own instead of the Guardian.

“All right! Let’s go!” Donald said and we all rushed towards where Ansem had now moved. Sora was the first to leap into the tree when— “Oof!” I landed on the ground, getting hit by Donald and Goofy. We groaned and Donald sat up abruptly.  “What the heck?!” He pounded on the invisible shield while Goofy and I sat up.

That’s when everything began shaking and I looked inside to see a giant heartless coming out. Oh my god. My mouth opened slightly and I couldn’t believe how tall this exactly was. The Darkside towered something as tall as a 60 feet tall.  

“Whoa….” I murmured in disbelief.

“What’s that?!” Goofy demanded and I could only reply that it was some sort of heartless. A super heartless on steroids for sure. I couldn’t help but join in on with Donald with punching the invisible wall.

“Why does this appear at the most inconvenient times!?” I demanded. Yup, this is so going to be my top priority to figure out how to destroy this thing.  I watched as Sora took on the heartless and actually seemed to be winning. How is it that he’s able to take THIS on with ease?!

Must’ve been with all his experience and how he had already fought this on Destiny Island. He landed the final blow and we all cheered, “All right Sora!” Donald said loudly and I couldn’t help but whistle.

But that’s when Ansem came and the cheering came to a halt. Now here comes the hard part. I remembered how bad I had with this fight. Some may argue this was actually one of the hardest storyline battles in Kingdom Hearts. I would agree with them. I watched nervously as Sora and Ansem faced off. I couldn’t hear most of what they were saying but I could tell there were a lot of loud noises coming from inside.

“Come on Sora!” Goofy cheered and Donald was cheering alongside him.

I knew Sora was going to win, there was no doubt. He was set on beating Ansem and I knew he would be able to do it. He could do anything he sets his mind to. All I wanted was Sora to not fall unconscious afterwards from exhaust. That would really be bad.  I smiled and pounded my fist against the invisible wall. “You can do it Sora!” I cheered and joined in on with Donald and Goofy.

Sora kept dodging most of Ansem’s attacks and even when it seemed Sora didn’t have a chance, he proved it wrong and fought off Ansem before landing the final strike. Ansem staggered to a stand but faded away in darkness.

 “YEAH SORA!” We cheered, jumping up to a stand and grinning at the heavily panting brunette. He looked over at us and gave a thumbs up. The invisible wall disappeared and we all ran over to his side. “Curaga!” I casted the spell knowing he was probably going to need it.

“Do you think we won?” Donald asked but I shook my head. “Not yet, I feel like he’s still hanging around somewhere” Sora informed us, feeling the lingering darkness that surrounded us. Nice intuition Sora. I looked around but I could feel his presence still. But that’s when suddenly darkness came out of nowhere and consumed the entire room.

“What the!” I looked around wondering if we were still standing or flying or what. We all got on offense but we were still bewildered about where the hell were we.

 “Behold the endless abyss! Within lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts!” Ansem’s voice boomed in the darkness and I looked till I found the only thing noticeable in this darkness.

A large white door stood on a snowy platform in the middle of this darkness. This…this was Kingdom Hearts. My god…how can Ansem believe this would give him darkness when it obviously is bright as heck meaning it’s filled with light!

“Look as hard as you are able. You’ll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours.”  Ansem’s voice sounded louder than before and I decided to look down and my eyes widen in horror.

….. [Insert anything you want to scream because this thing is HUGE!]

Sora looked down and gasped, Donald shrieked, and Goofy gulped loudly. I began to give ragged breaths out, intimidated by Ansem’s new form. He was much larger now, probably forty times bigger than he used to be. His coat was long gone revealing his chest and he now wielded a duel-ended version of Riku’s Soul Eater. The Guardian had also grown in size; the head is more demonic, with red rings around its eyes, its long, crooked antenna becoming a protective helm of large, flat, jagged black horns and similar plating covering its jaw and back. On the Guardian's shoulders are two large blue orbs. It has two narrow yellow "eyes" on its chest and two yellow tubes that wrap around its back, connecting to two red reptilian heads underneath its arms. Its arms have loose, ragged flaps hanging from them like cloak sleeves. The main ‘ship’ had a demonic face sporting a long, pointed chin, a thick jaw, and a round, dark pink forehead covered with pale pink veins. Its mouth is filled with large, white fangs that protrude out, and the inside of its mouth is filled with purple, green, and dark blue veins, with a twisted mass of purple cords fused together for a tongue. Its small eyes are completely yellow and surrounded by black rings.  

Either way, this was huge, almost impossible to continuing describing how big this thing really is. Basically to sum it up, Ansem has made an ENORMOUS Heartless/Death machine and is intended on killing us with it.

“Darkness conquers all worlds!” His voice rang, giving emphasizes on how big it really was. I couldn’t believe the size and thought for a minute that we were going to get killed. This was impossible!

Suddenly we started falling and we all couldn’t help but scream or shout. I noticed a portal forming near the side of the ship and I couldn’t help but notice only Donald, Goofy, and I were being pulled into it.

“Whoa!” I yelled being pulled in along with Donald and Goofy. “WAH!!!!!!” Donald shrieked, attempting to flap away. “Yaaaaaaa-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!!” I heard Goofy scream before we were finally pulled in. And all I remembered before being pulled in was watching as Sora continued falling.

“SORA!”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-?????? -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The darkness that surrounded me, it was intoxicating. I couldn’t breathe…I couldn’t move and more importantly, I couldn’t see anything!  My hands shuffled aimlessly in the darkness trying to find something that I could use. My mind was in a panic. What’s going on, where am I, and what am I going to do?! I only remembered falling into this pit of darkness and I lost Donald and Goofy at some point here. I’m freaking out now. Who knew I was this freaked out by total darkness? My heart was pounding against my chest and my own panicked breaths were the only sound I could hear here.

“Okay! Snap out of this!” I snapped and I began slapping my cheeks in comfort. “You fought heartless, Disney villains, and whatever the heck Hoshi is! Don’t let the darkness freak you out!” I continued telling myself.

I continued breathing in and out when I thought I heard some movement. My eyes widen and I spun around to find the source. Not much to see anyways. What would I do for a flashlight right now….actually…never mind, I may get scared shitless the minute I turn it on. I feel like I’m in Resident Evil right now. Remember, you’re not alone. I kept repeating this till I heard myself saying something out loud.

“There is light even in the darkest of places,” I touched my lips then shined my keyblade out. It illuminated faintly, providing me with some light in this nightmare.

I waved it around using it as a nightlight before I noticed something crawling along the ground. It began to light up, swirling around me and began to form something. I tilted my head slightly and followed the glowing glyph. It was the heartless symbol. My eyes widen as the room suddenly began to grow a shade of blue. I regretted it instantaneously; knowing I wasn’t going to like what I was going to see. I found that shadows were beginning to form from the ground and blue broadswords appeared in the heartless’s hands. Invisibles, lots and lots of Invisibles surrounded me and there glowing yellow eyes targeted me. My eyes widen and I took a step back from the sheer shock. I am screwed. The first one charged at me and I instantly retaliated. I clashed blades with the heartless and defeated it with a couple strikes to it. But others came swiftly after that one. I was in for a hell of a fight. I couldn’t tell if I was winning or making my last stand. I uppercut a heartless and swung out my right arm casting Firaga.

The flames simply revealed exactly how many there was. 25 or more against me. Yeah, this is going to be a fair fight. My grip on my keyblade didn’t loosen as I swung around, cutting in the bodies that attempted to come at me. I felt several scratches against my body but I had to keep moving. White-hot adrenaline pumped through my blood and my fear began to melt away. I was in the zone, I wanted to leave and I am planning on keeping my life while I’m at it. I twisted my body when the heartless began to send their dark energy attacks. I managed to have dodged them and I leaped back into the fight. Come on, don’t stop. I kept getting knocked back from all the heartless surrounding me. Seriously, I was doing more dodging then damage much to my disappointment.

“Assault Charge!” I spun around three times, knocking the two heartless that tried charging at me from behind.  

Great, 2 more down. My fist tightened to the point where I could barely feel them anymore. My breaths were becoming harder and my legs were beginning to feel unsteady. 14 remained and they all seemed eager to finish me off.

‘Oh come on!’ I thought in annoyance and sighed angrily to myself. “I COULD USE A LITTLE HELP!” I snapped loudly and charged right back into the heartless battle.

GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Heartless were slammed back as I continued my assault in a desperate attempt to keep my decreasing territory. When I don’t need help, people come my side but when I actually do need some help, none. Jeezes—suddenly two heartless disappeared in front of me; the faint flicker of their bodies disappearing caused me to stop in my tracks. A silver object flashed before my eyes and disappeared to the right side. Lightning crashed down, hitting three more heartless and I turned my head to see who came to help. A small, weary grin came across my face. Wow, is it weird to say they’re my heroes right now? 

“Sora! Donald! Goofy!” I greeted brightly. The moment was ruined when another heartless charged at me and I had to block it with my keyblade. The three charged and I noticed the battle was instantly going to be easier.

“You okay?” Sora asked when I was close enough. I nodded and gave a thumbs up. “Never better.” I admitted, laughing a bit. Sora smiled but that’s when we just finished off taking the last six heartless.

By the time we were done, I was so happy that I couldn’t help but jump up and down from the adrenaline rush I was currently going through. “Let’s go!” Sora suggested when a portal revealed itself. The three of us nodded in agreement and followed in suit of Sora who was the first to leave.

WHOOOOOO! BACK TO FLYING! I twirled in the air before flashing my keyblade out once I realized exactly where Ansem was. We floated directly over what use to be the head of the heartless/death machine but it seemed to have…blown up. Completely wiped out from existence. From what I could see, a heartless emblem that was once over Ansem disappeared without a trace and Ansem floated back to a straight position. He extended both his arms out and in a flash the duo-ended Soul Eater was back in his hands. I raised a brow before looking at Sora.

 “How much did I miss?” I asked curiously. Cause the head was destroyed, the core was taken out, he got Donald, Goofy, and I back in what could’ve been possibly 10-20 minutes.

“Not much.” Sora admitted and I couldn’t help but smirk. “Ready everyone?” Goofy asked, raising his shield readily for battle. I looked to Sora and we both nodded at the same time. 

“Charge!” Donald cried out, pointing his wand out and we all yelled in agreement.

 Blood pumping, I felt myself spin around in the air to dodge the ‘lasers’ that were coming from behind Ansem. He really is a freaking hypocrite. He rambles on and on about darkness yet he uses a light attack. Swinging my keyblade forward, we all attacked in general different directions. Donald and Goofy were taking care of his face while Sora and I focused on his arms. I could see Ansem wince once in a while from the pain but every time he tried thrusting his sword into one of us, we would simply dive or get too far out of range to hit us. Donald was casting magic spells at him and Goofy was smashing the shield at him. He started twirling his blade at us, which I got hit with.

“Shit!” I muttered looking at the cuts I got on my right knee and arm. 

“Cure!” I heard Donald yelled. I saw the green light and moved around. “Thanks Donald!” I yelled. Then little beams of light started appearing and aimed towards Sora. I flew over to him and started blocking the light back and forth, hitting them towards the ship. I found a way to use the light for good again! I continued deflecting the lights from everyone while they continued to bash against Ansem.

“Firaga!” I casted the spell hoping that his Guardian wouldn’t do anything to help. I was becoming really paranoid. We were flying all over, attacking while having several close calls with Ansem attacking us. But then as quickly as this fight started, it came to an end. The final strike was blown and all I knew from that point was the loud sounds of explosions that were erupting throughout the entire heartless.

“FLY AWAY!” I yelled to the others. Donald quacked loudly and we all moved out of range of the exploding heartless.

Hehehe, I guess the saying is true. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Or in this case, the bigger they are, the bigger the explosions. I shielded my ears and watched as the heartless/death machine exploded and left nothing but ashes in its trace. I blinked for a few moments. Did we do it? But when my eyes caught Ansem, holding his arm, battered and beaten, I gulped loudly. Nope, he’s still alive somehow.

“It is futile. The keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness” He said strongly, not even a hint of weariness in his voice. Sora and I were glaring at him while Donald and Goofy were too busy trying to catch there breathes, just in case of another fight. Ansem then turned away from us and looked over to Kingdom Hearts with an extended hand towards it.

“Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness……” He shouted. For a split second, I expected nothing to happen and Ansem would look stupid floating there going ‘Well…crap’

But the door slowly cracked opened and an inky, almost ghostly substance began to spew out of it. Darkness, oh my god, why was darkness coming out?! My heart raced as I could hear Ansem laugh in glory.

“Supreme darkness……” He acknowledged. I clenched my teeth and knew he was wrong. So wrong that I wanted to go and pull his hair but what good would that do?!

“You’re wrong!” Sora shouted loudly, his fist turned into balls and his eyes set solely at Kingdom Hearts. I looked over at him then to Ansem. He hadn’t even turned to look over at us.

“I know now, without a doubt. Kingdom Heart…..is light!” Sora yelled.

That’s when light illuminated from the darkness that was slowly creaking out. It brought light to the entire abyss, momentarily blinding my vision from the sheer intensity. This was by far the brightest light I’ve seen. It seemed even brighter than the sun itself. Yet, the light was gentle, warm, and after you stared at it for a little bit, you could actually see. And there I watched as Ansem just disappeared. Faded into nothingness. Gone. Poof! He’s been Asta la Vista’ed. Terminated. Fatality. I couldn’t believe what I had witnessed. Soon the light disappeared and revealed that Ansem had indeed disappeared. My eyes were wide in shock. Sora looked equally as shocked and Donald and Goofy had to blink for a few moments before actually seeing that he was gone. We were all too stunned to actually speak. My eyes couldn’t move from the spot where Ansem was floating before.

…….We did it?

The words seemed foreign in my mind.

“We did it?” I repeated softly, raising a brow and looking at the others to see if they could confirm it. The stunned looks Donald and Goofy gave me only confirmed that it was downright possible. My eyes widen slowly and Sora couldn’t help to be the first to burst out.

“WE DID IT!” He yelled, punching the air in victory.

I couldn’t help but yell in joy, falling backwards to do a twirl in the air. Donald and Goofy cheered, hugging each other. “I can’t believe it!” I tackled Donald and Goofy in a hug which they immediately retorted with hugging me till I couldn’t breathe. Somehow Sora would also get involve and all we were doing was cheering about how we had won and hopefully the darkness would leave us alone! I was laughing so hard, I had a feeling that I was forgetting something. Oh god.

The smile on my face had left instantly and my eyes widen in horror. We forgot about the door. Goofy noticed the horrified expression and put a hand to my shoulder, shaking it gently.

“What’s the matter?” He asked and I slowly turned my head towards the direction of Kingdom Hearts. Donald and Sora seemed to simmer down from the festive jumping around when they caught sight of what I was looking at. Darkness was leaking out of Kingdom Hearts  

“THE DOOR!” I finally shouted and all three guys jumped. Great way to ruin a mood Michelle. We all took off without another word, heading towards the door that was still cracked open. Landing on the ground, we continued on foot. Darkness was slowly leaking out again but it wasn’t a whole lot.

 “Come on!” Sora encouraged placing both his hands on the door and began to push back. I stood next to him and pushed as Donald and Goofy went to the other door. I pushed as hard as I could, even started using my back. I could feel the door just barely inch forward but it wasn’t going to be enough.

“Wah!” Goofy shrieked, poking his head through the open door. Donald glared at him while he continued to keep pushing. “Stop staring and keep pushing!” Donald scowled but Goofy turned his head causing the duck to look inside. His eyes widen like balloons and his jaw fell.  

“THE HEARTLESS!” both Donald and Goofy yelled causing me and Sora to look inside as well.  There was a small pool of Shadows beginning to scramble on the ground. I gasped loudly and immediately went back to pushing.  “Hurry!” Donald screamed. We all started pushing even harder but it wasn’t making any progress. I could see that we were in no physical shape to be pushing this door after we had defeated Ansem. But we had to….we had to try.

I started noticing Sora was losing his grip on the door and I shook his shoulder. “Come on Sora!” I said to him but he shook his head.

“I can’t…..” Sora wearily began. My eyes widen. It almost sounded like he wanted to give up. “Sora—” I began but suddenly a hand on the door caught my attention. “Don’t give up yet!”  Sora’s head lifted up at the sound of the voice and we both looked to see Riku on the other side.

“Riku?!” Sora said in disbelief. Riku nodded and smiled.  

“Come on, you guys! Together, we can do it!” He encouraged.

I stared at him for a moment, feeling exhausted but in a way, I couldn’t be happier to see him here. Sora looked at him and nodded, gaining the energy to continue to push the door with all his might. I pressed my back against the door, forcing whatever strength I had left to get some more and toughen up!  I could hear a loud noise and I peered to see two giant Darkside’s were towering over, seeming to close in and knock us away. Holy crap.

“It’s hopeless!” Donald yelled, gripping at his feathers and I groaned loudly in irritation.

“Stop thinking negative!” I yelled back at him and continued to push but I couldn’t help but keep looking. Suddenly the heartless were defeated; Donald, Goofy, and I looked even more inside. Sora and Riku paused in pushing and also looked. “Huh?” Donald and Goofy said, there eyes widening in shock. Then someone came out of the darkness and light glowed around him. My jaw fell, noticing automatically who the figure was.  

“You’re Majesty!” Donald and Goofy yelled.

He then took out a keyblade, as I gawked. He actually had it! Hahaha! Mickey Mouse has a freaking keyblade!

“Now, Sora! Let’s close this door for good!” He said causing Sora to look inside and blink in disbelief. Donald and Goofy went back to pushing but Sora stood still.  “Close it, quick!” Donald told Sora causing the brunette to look at him.

“But….” Sora began but ‘King’ Mickey interrupted him. “Don’t worry. There will always be a door to the light.” Mickey said.  I stared at where he was standing then I looked to Riku then to Sora before I began pushing the door.

“Sora, you can trust King Mickey.” Goofy said brightly with a smile on his face. I couldn’t help but feel sad at this moment. Knowing that we searched all over for them only to lock them on the other side of the Door to Light. But a small smile came to my face and I looked to Sora.

“We’ll see them again, I know it!” I told him, offering a little comfort to him. Sora looked at me but then turned to Riku who was looking around. “Now they’re coming!” Riku rushed and began to pull on the door. Sora finally nodded and began pushing with his shoulder. The light around Mickey finally faded and he turned to look at his two friends. I already could tell by merely glancing over they were trying their hardest to resist crying.

“Donald, Goofy, thank you,” Mickey said. Donald and Goofy nodded and began pushing even harder than before. The door finally began to close and I could see from the corner of my eye that Riku turned to us, a gentle smile lingering on his face, “Take care of her”

Sora nodded and continued to push until the door completely shut. Sora leapt back, taking out his keyblade and held it up. A bright light emerged from his keyblade and the Door to Light began to light up as well. The door started glowing, becoming translucent before glimmering away into nothing. My eyes widen to find that the huge door that once had stood there was gone without a trace. An eerie silence followed afterwards and all I could feel was a faint grief.   

“We did it…” I muttered in disbelief. The Door to Light was locked up, locking behind its doors Riku and King Mickey. Letting out an exhausted sigh, I saw Sora turn and his eyes widen seeing Kairi standing a couple of feet away, looking awfully confused on where she was exactly.

“Kairi!” Watching Sora running over to her, I watched as I imagined the song Simple and Clean play. A tear trailed down my face and I couldn’t help but smile. It’s over. It’s finally over.

_You did it!_

I lifted my head only to gasp. Oh no, it’s not over.

“Hoshi! I thought I told you till later!” I pointed out angrily while she rolled her eyes. Brushing her golden hair back, she smirked and crossed her arms. “Well, you were the one to suggest I come back when your battle was over. It seems pretty clear this battle is finally done.” She reminded me causing me to blush in embarrassment. Oh yeah. I did say that to her. The thought brought me back to the moments before I would leave to end up in Traverse Town again. Riiiiiiiiiiight. I did, I needed to tell her something important. With her arms crossed behind her back, I noticed she looked much older, probably in her later 20s. Her golden brown hair was tied in a braid and she was wearing a white dress that reached to her ankles. I blinked a few moments. She looks absolutely innocent! Unlike the crazy woman who tried killing me!

“So is this your way of saying you wanted to go home?” She demanded, with a hopeful smile.

Letting my head fall, I closed my eyes and thought about everything I experienced. Though this was a total mind-blowing adventure in which I would never leave, the offer didn’t seem so bad now, now that I had actually helped beat Ansem.

_So you’re quitting that easily?_

‘Tch’ I smirked at myself. My inner conscious is getting to me now. Hoshi waited patiently for an answer, her eyes not once moving off me. It had seemed like time had stopped once again whenever we talked. Looking up, I opened my mouth slightly. “No”

 She shook her head, sighing in disappointment.

“You really must’ve hit your head PRETTY hard or—” She trailed off, finally understanding what I meant. “Or you consider them more as your family now,” I nodded and crossed my arms behind my back. A desperate look came on her face when she looked at her watch. “But Michelle! You know two universes like this can’t overlap!”

I smiled while she seemed to get even more confused.

“Do you want to leave behind everything you knew, what you were familiar with?” She demanded softly. I scoffed and looked at her. “After all this? It may be harder to go back then stay here,” I answered. My lips began to curl to a smirk as I put my hands on my hips. “But!”

Hoshi lifted her head up and I wagged my finger teasingly. “I will go home soon! With my mom, dad, brother, sister, and all my friends waiting!” I said brightly. Her honey brown eyes widen. “But you can’t! The un—”

“Can I finish?” She paused, looking up at me while I had my arms crossed in front of me.

“Though our worlds will not be connected anymore, I want you to watch over them. For me please.” Hoshi arms fell to her side and she stared at me like I was crazy. Which I kind of was at the moment.

“W-What?” She muttered.

Walking up to her, I placed a hand on her shoulder. “As you repeatedly said, we’re connected. So you see, you’re the perfect person for the job!” I explained and patted her shoulder. She watched me in utter disbelief. A smile came to her face and she pulled my hand off her shoulder. She began to glow a light green, a single tear beginning to stream down her face.

“I shall attempt my best to comply with your request,”

“Take care of everyone,” I advised her when her legs began to fade away in the light. I watched as she slowly began to disappear, probably to return to a world that I might not return to ever. I let out a sigh but an idea came to mind. “Oh and Hoshi!” I called out, noticing that half her body was already faded.

 “If this is your real self….who was that person you were before? The one with black hair and green eyes?” I asked quickly. She looked at me, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she looked down towards the ground. The moment grew tense and my shoulders locked into place. From the look on her face, I feel like she knew…but it was something she wasn’t going to truthfully answer me.

“I can only tell you….she was connected to the other you. Once many years ago.” She answered. 

“Somebody close to the other me, huh?” I whispered. Black hair and green eyes girl with a smile that seemed to know me so well. Who are you? I shook my head before looking at Hoshi. She sighed softly, taking one more look towards me.

“I will not be able to provide you any assistance anymore, unless you hit your lowest point…only then I can give you a slim chance of survival.” Hoshi warned me as I nodded slowly. I know, from this point on I will not get her additional assistance. From this point on, I am truly

“Take care,” I said once again to her. She nodded.

“Till we meet again, farewell” She said and let herself completely fade away, green lights flying away. I breathed in and let it out through my nose, a relieved smile placed on my face. That rock I had felt, deciding whether or not to leave my friends behind had finally lifted.

“I guess I made the right choice.” I smiled, feeling the wind push past my face, a growing light appearing behind me. I was satisfied with the decision, yet…an eerie feeling grew. I wondered if I was going to regret this later on. I looked behind me seeing Donald and Goofy watching both me and Sora. But Donald seemed more focus on me at the moment.

“Who was that?” Donald finally asked in utter shock. My eyes widen in shock and it soon turned to surprise.

“You saw her?” I asked the duck. He nodded while Goofy, turning to us, exclaimed, “She looked like your twin or something.”

They actually saw Hoshi?!  I smiled at the two and couldn’t help but laugh, earning more confused stares.

“Yeah…she was close…” I answered but turned again when we saw Sora come. Lights scattered up in the endless darkness and I could see Destiny Island before it completely disappear. Looking at him, he looked past us and we all turned towards the light. Putting a hand on Sora’s shoulder, I smiled.

“Ready?” I asked him. He smiled and nodded.

Going in a line, we all headed to the light, letting it take us where ever it did.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-?????? -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Walking on a dirt path, I was swinging my arms back and forth, trying to ease my boredom. Sora had his hands laced together behind his head, his bright blue eyes looking to the road we were following. Donald and Goofy had changed to their original clothes, finally having completed their original duty and was now traveling with friends.

Grass surrounded us in fields that seemed to go miles and miles, never to end. I sighed in relief. It was so peaceful, a nice change to what had happened an hour ago.

“Now what?” Donald asked, looking at Sora, Goofy, and I in that order.

“We have to find Riku and the King,” Sora answered plainly. Donald looked at me as I shrugged.

“I have to find my other friend. She’s still out there, I’m not leaving till I find her too.” I exclaimed, having crossed my arms in front of me. Goofy, tapping his chin looked to us.

“But where do we start looking for that there Door to Light?” He asked curiously. We all stopped, giving a moment to think.

 “I have no clue.” I answered after the silence, dropping my head sadly. The others responded with an exhausted sigh, hanging lowly.

Looking back up, I titled my head in amusement. Seeing a familiar figure walk onto the past, I stretched my hand out slightly, pointing towards the figure.

“Pluto?” I called out. The dog turned its head to us, revealing something in his mouth. Donald looked up and repeated, “Pluto!”

Goofy, looking up, smiled brightly. “Hey, Pluto, where have you been?” Goofy asked the dog. Rubbing my head, I wondered how Pluto managed to get here. “Hey, what’s in Pluto’s mouth?” I asked causing Donald and Goofy to look more carefully.

They both blinked before letting out a loud “Huh!”

“What is it?” Sora asked while Donald stared at Pluto, deadpanned and seemingly frozen.

“Gawrsh! That’s the Kings seal!” Goofy answered, pointing to the letter that Pluto had. Sora and I exchanged glances before looking at Pluto. “Hey, have you seen King Mickey?” Sora asked, extending a hand to the dog. Turning around, Pluto began to run further down the dirt road, causing me to gasp. Sora, looking back at us smiled brightly.

“Guys! Come on!” He encouraged. Running past him I shouted “You don’t have to tell me twice! Hey! Come back Pluto!”

Running after Pluto, we all chased him running for miles and miles for who know how long. With smiles on our faces, we knew we had our lead.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_Remember Sora, you are the one that will open the door to light._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://archiveofourown.org/works/4757210/chapters/10876586 
> 
> This is the link for the next story in the series, also known as Inside Story. After that story, we'll be moving on to KH2 and much better writing from this point on. Wheeeeeeeeeeee.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is a story I originally had on Quizilla before it decided to shut down forever. I decided to bring the story back here to at least continue on what I had instead of leaving it for dust.


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